Clay Pinions
by Lochar
Summary: Complete! Watching movies with his cousin one day, a young Harry Potter may have found the key to unlocking the Power the Dark Lord knows not his Soul. He just doesn’t know it yet. Slight Xenogears crossover. Year 1 story.
1. Prologue

Harry Potter – Unknown Title

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, except maybe the storyline. I might not even own that, lemme get back to ya.

Crossover- Xenogears

Prologue

-

Unknown Place, August 11th

A group of 12 men and women are sitting around a table.

"The Mother has been reborn again." One man looked around at his peers. "That means he has been reborn as well. Do we know where he is?"

A woman shook her head. "No, we don't. And since the death of the keeper's host almost a year ago, we haven't had any contact from her either. Normally when she acquires a new host, she makes contact with us again."

"Is it possible that the keeper cannot contact us?" a third questioned.

"No." the first shook his head. "I would not think so. Unless the host was in a place impossible to get in contact with us."

Another one of the group made a motion. "It does not matter about the keeper right now. About the Mother. What is her assumed name this time?"

"Ginerva. A strange name. And one, I do not see how he will be able to see it as he always does."

The first one shook his head again. "As bad as the last one. Elurven. What is it with these odd names."

"The Mother was born to those of magic, it may be that it is interfering with the rebirth. I suggest that the Mother be removed so that she may be reborn again without the influence of a magical birth." Another mentioned.

The first nodded. "That is a good idea. All in favor?"

Before the vote could be taken, there was a knock on the door. A messenger entered.

"My Lords and Ladies, I bring a message from the Emperor. He has stated that this incarnation of the Mother and her Contact are not to be touched. If they are to die, it is to be natural, without any of your or his interference."

The first sighed, and nodded. "Take a message back to him, telling him we will only monitor them then."

-

October 31st

At the moment of Lord Voldemort's defeat, far away in another home, a little girl was surrounded by a green and red incandescent glow. She seemed to scream for a moment, and then was quiet. Her parents rushed into her room, only to find everything except her crib was destroyed but the girl herself sound asleep again.


	2. Chapter 1

HP – Unknown Title

Disclaimer – Nope, still don't own this. If you think I do, you need even more help than I do.

A/N: This is going to be slightly AU. Most noticeably, the Dursleys. Thanks to my beta Tobias for keeping me straight.

Chapter 1

-

Six year old Harry Potter sat on the floor next to the couch while his cousin Dudley was flicking through the channels, trying to find something to watch on the telly. He had been told that as long as he didn't say a word, he could watch with his cousin.

The TV stopped suddenly, on an old movie with people fighting each other. Occasionally they would stop fighting and talk to each other, but their mouths kept moving even after they were done talking. Dudley was laughing at this and kept it on the channel.

Harry didn't care about this though; he was watching the people fight. They kept kicking and punching at each other but never getting hit. Even if they did, it looked like it didn't hurt them. He sat there very quietly and watched the movie with Dudley, trying to figure out how the people were able to fight like that.

-

Later on that evening, Dudley wandered outside to find Harry punching at the air.

"Whatcha doing Harry?" he asked, looking at him curiously.

Harry stopped, and turned towards his cousin. "I'm trying to do what those guys on the telly were doing today. You know, the fighting each other but not getting hurt? It looked interesting."

Dudley laughed. "You can't do that. Daddy says you're too small and thin to be any good at anything."

Harry shook his head. "But one of those guys on the show was thin too. I'm trying to do what he was."

"Really? I don't believe it. You're crazy Harry." Dudley laughed at him again, and walked inside.

Harry could hear the telly come on again and the channels changing. He shrugged and went back to trying to mimic what he had seen earlier.

-

The next day found Harry sitting next to the couch again, waiting for his cousin to find something to watch. Dudley didn't seem to be able to find what he wanted and kept going through the channels.

He finally gave up and threw the remote onto the coffee table. Glaring at Harry, he got up. "Don't touch the remote. I'll be back. I need to ask Daddy for something."

Harry sat there, very quiet, waiting on Dudley to get back. He could hear Uncle Vernon talking to Dudley about something, and then they both came back into the room.

Harry swallowed, wondering if he had done something wrong, but his Uncle just ignored him and went to where all the movie tapes were.

He smiled and pulled out a tape, handing it to Dudley. "That's my boy. Already wants to know about fighting and at such a young age. You're going to grow up big and strong my boy, not scrawny and skinny." With this, he glared at Harry for a moment before chuckling to himself. He patted Dudley on the head and walked off.

Dudley smiled and put the movie in the TV. He sat back as the movie started. Harry couldn't help the small gasp of surprise as the movie came on. It was another one like the show had been yesterday.

Neither boy heard the conversation in the next room between Harry's Aunt and Uncle, or when the front door opened and closed and his Uncle leave and come back later. They were too caught up in the movie.

When it ended, Dudley wandered off again, with another "Don't touch my remote." comment to Harry. He came back with several more tapes and put the next one in. "More of those movies." Dudley made as an offhand comment to Harry. "Daddy went and got them for me while I was watching the first one.

The two boys watched two more movies that afternoon, neither saying a single word to the other.

That evening found both boys outside, practicing what they had seen in the movies.

"I liked those ones that were really big and strong and could punch through walls and stuff." Dudley looked at his cousin. "If they hit a person like that, they could punch through them too."

"Yeah, but the other ones were fast enough that even if the big guys tried to punch them, they could move out of the way. And they could do lots of stuff like throwing people around when they punched at them." Harry countered.

"I still like the big guys more though. They looked like people you don't want to fight. The other guy didn't look tough at all and had to prove it." Dudley peered at his cousin. "Kinda like you. Let's see if you're fast like your guy from the movie." With that and a laugh, Dudley jumped at Harry.

Dudley tackled him and tried to punch him in the stomach, but Harry managed to get his arm in the way and rolled Dudley off him.

"No fair, you didn't give me a chance to get ready." Harry held his arm, a bruise already starting to form where Dudley had hit it.

"Alright, here's your warning then. I'm gonna do it again!" Dudley jumped at Harry again, but Harry dodged to the left and pushed him with his unhurt arm. Dudley lost his balance and fell onto the ground.

Dudley sat up and looked at Harry. "Hey, not bad. But I'm going to get you this time."

Dudley stood up and threw another punch at Harry. Both boys play fought each other for another hour before Petunia called them inside. Harry and Dudley went inside, both bruised and battered. Harry more than his cousin, but Dudley had taken a few good hits as well.

Once they were inside, she made a big fuss over Dudley, exclaiming at how he shouldn't have gotten himself hurt. She ignored Harry, treating Dudley.

"Mum, can you make sure Harry is ok too?" Petunia stopped and looked at Dudley strangely, then glared at Harry. Dudley laughed. "No mum, I need my fightin' partner able to fight again. If he can't move around like he was tonight, it's not as much fun."

At this, Petunia sighed slightly and dressed Harry's bruises and scrapes as well.

-

The boys spent the next week of their summer watching movies and cartoons with fighting in them, and then practicing those moves on each other that evening. By then, they had watched all the movies that Vernon could find and were still wanting more.

"Hey Dudley, I've got an idea." Harry said while Dudley was again flicking through the channels, looking for a fighting movie for them.

Dudley turned to Harry. "Oh, and what's that?"

"You think the library would have anything on how to do punches and kicks and stuff? Maybe we could get a book from there and try to learn those."

"Hey, maybe… Lemme go ask Daddy if we can go." With that, Dudley got off the couch and started to walk out of the room. He turned and looked at Harry.

"I know, I know. Don't touch your remote." Harry sighed.

"No, I was going to tell you to keep looking for a fighting movie, dummy." Dudley laughed at the shocked look on Harry's face and went to find his dad.

Not willing to give up this opportunity, Harry grabbed the remote and started quickly flicking through the channels, looking for a new movie for them.

He heard Dudley and his uncle arguing a moment later.

"What would you want to go to the library for Dudders? There's no need for you to go there."

"But Daddy, Harry had a good idea. We need to go to the library…"

Dudley was cut off by his father. "Harry! The boy had a good idea? What sort of stupid things is that kid putting into your head?" Harry could almost imagine his uncle's face turning red.

"Fighting books Daddy. Harry said maybe the library had books on fighting that I could learn out of. Since we can't find any new movies to watch with fighting in them."

"Fighting books huh? Well, today only. If you don't find any books, then you're not going back." Vernon stomped into the room, seeing Harry with the remote in his hand.

"BOY! You are not supposed to be using the remote! I was going to let both of you go to the library to look for those books, but instead, I think you'll be spending time in your cupboard." Uncle Vernon's face was turning red again, and Harry could see his hands making a fist and then stopping.

"But Uncle Vernon, Dudley told me to. He wanted me to keep looking for fighting movies while he talked to you." Harry quickly stammered, trying to get his Uncle to not punish him.

"Oh, doing something for Dudley. Alright, it's ok this time. But next time, you are still not to use the remote. You will do it from the television, is that understood?" Harry could see his Uncle starting to calm down.

He nodded. "Yes sir. Does that mean we still both get to go to the library to look for the books?"

"Yes. Now get out there and get into the car. And Harry," Harry turned to his uncle, "if you or Dudley don't find a book like you're looking for, you'll still be punished for putting stupid ideas in Dudley's head. Am I understood?"

"Yes sir." Harry quickly nodded and ran out the front door and got into the backseat, apologizing to his aunt for startling her.


	3. Chapter 2

Clay Pinions Ch. 2

Author: Lochar

Disclaimer: It still hasn't been given to me, so I still don't own it.

A/N: As someone pointed out to me, yes, there is a big continuity error here. Harry's on Earth. I'm going to point to the fact that the Zohar was found in Kenya in 20XX according to Xenosaga Episode 1. Other than that, this is MY fic, I'll do with as I please.

Also, I really don't like the title, but can't think of a better one. Shiny nickle or your name "Here" if you can help me with a better name. XenoPotter's about the best I can come up with. LOL

-------------

Dudley walked up to the librarian, looking around. "Uh… Ma'am?"

The older lady smiled at him. "Yes young man?"

Dudley stammered and then yanked Harry forward, hissing to him, "You ask!"

Behind them, Vernon frowned at that.

Looking at the nametag on her desk, Harry smiled at the librarian. "We wanna know if you have any books that tell you how to fight. Can you tell us, Mrs. Raye?"

Looking up at Harry's uncle, she caught the frown on his face. Drawing the wrong conclusion, she tapped a few keys on the keyboard of her computer. "I'm sorry kids, but we don't have any books on how to fight."

Both Dudley and Harry looked down. Harry winced. "Oh well, it was worth a try."

"Daddy, can we try another library? I really wanna find some fighting books. Please?" Dudley looked at Vernon.

Vernon frowned again, and then smiled at Dudley. "Well, maybe Mrs. Raye here can search for the again, maybe looking for Martial Arts books?" Vernon looked over to the librarian.

Catching the meaning, the librarian nodded and did a search again. "Ah, we do have a few Martial Arts books. Would you like me to get you a couple?"

Harry and Dudley both nodded, "Please!"

Smiling, she walked off into the stacks.

"So, Dudley, what do you think she's going to find? Think it'll be something like the movies?" Harry asked.

"I dunno, but I hope it's got pictures. It'd be really hard to try them without seeing how they are done."

After waiting a few minutes, the librarian walked back. "Alright children, we have several books. How about one each, and then you can come back and get new ones? Is that alright?"

Both boys nodded and grabbed a book from the stack Mrs. Raye had brought back.

"Ta eye chee, the Basics?" Harry sounded out.

"No, Tai-Chi. Is that the one you want?" Mrs. Raye asked as Harry nodded. "Alright, which one did you pick?" At this, she turned to Dudley.

"Umm…. Karate, First Belt." Dudley read off the title.

"Alright. Both of those books are part of a series. They're due back in two weeks. You boys can bring them back and get the next in the series, or re-check those out again?" Mrs. Raye said.

Both Harry and Dudley grinned at her and thanked her. They checked their books out and ran back to Vernon's car.

Climbing into the backseat, both boys hurriedly opened up the books and started looking through them.

"Good, they do have pictures in them. They've got instructions too." Harry said. He looked at the first few pages, then poked Dudley. "Hey, Dudley, know what this word is?" He pointed at a word in the book.

"Nuh uh. Daddy, what's this word?" Dudley showed it to Vernon.

"Concentration. Which is what I need to do to drive. So don't bother me Harry. Or get Dudley to bother me for you. Your aunt can help you at the house."

------------------------------

Several months passes, with both Harry and Dudley reading the books and attempting the moves in them. When they thought they were done, they would switch books with each other. After almost four months, both boys had worked through most of both series of books from the library.

Of course, they practiced all the moves in the book against each other, intent on making sure they learned correctly.

-----------------------------

CRACK. The sound echoed through the backyard as Dudley dropped to his knees, holding onto his arm.

"WHAA! MUM! DADDY! IT HURTS!" Dudley screamed.

Vernon and Petunia both rushed out of the house, looking around frantically. "What happened? Dudley? Harry?" Petunia asked.

"I think Dudley broke his arm. We were fightin' and he punched at me and I blocked his arm and blocked it really really hard and then there was big cracking sound and then Dudley starting screaming." Harry rushed out.

Vernon glared at Harry. "So, you broke his arm did you? I'll teach you boy." Harry backed away as his uncle started towards him.

"Vernon, later. We need to get Dudders to the hospital. And I've been telling you they needed an instruction, but you wouldn't listen." Petunia stopped him with those words.

"Alright, both of you get in the car. We're taking Dudders to the hospital." Vernon stormed off to the car.

---------------------

"It's a very clean break Mr. Dursley, the bone in the forearm snapped almost perfectly straight. We didn't even actually have to set it, which was really odd. It was like the crack just broke straight through instead of breaking it normally." The doctor told Vernon. "He should only be in an arm cast for four or so weeks. After hearing what happened, I do suggest that you get the two of them a good teacher, so that something like this doesn't happen again."

He nodded. "I'm not going to let them practice on each other again, until they have an instructor there to handle them both. If Dudley still wants to, that is."

---------------------

Harry drew a line over the cast, over the same place that the bone had broken, and then signed his name on the line. "Didn't mean to break it Dudley. Guess I blocked too hard." He sighed. "Uncle Vernon's going to be really mad at me. Probably not let us practice anymore too."

Dudley shook his head. "I'll throw a fit if we can't practice. Wasn't your fault anyways. I shoulda seen the block and went around it. You don't normally block anyways, you just move away from the hit." Dudley grinned. "That seemed more like my move anyways. You stopped my hit cold."

Harry grinned at him. "Yeah, I was trying to trick you so I could get a good hit in. Didn't think this was gonna happen."

Unseen by both of them, Vernon turned around and walked back out of Dudley's exam room. Need to find a damned good instructor for my Dudders. Give him the boy to fight too, see if he can't break one of his bones in repayment.

On the drive home, Vernon turned around to the boys. "Alright, I've got some rules for the two of you. No more fighting for the two of you." At this, Dudley's eyes narrowed and he took a deep breath. "Dudley, that doesn't mean the two of you can't still practice, you just can't fight each other." The breath was let out in a huff. "Your arm is still broken son. I'm going to work on finding an instructor for the two of you, so you'll both learn not to break each other's bones."

Both boys nodded. "Yes Uncle Vernon." "Yes Daddy."


	4. Chapter 3

**Clay Pinions**

**By Lochar**

Disclaimer: Can be found in previous chapters.

* * *

Chapter 3 

Vernon spent the next few weeks looking around for a good instructor for Dudley and Harry. He asked his co-workers and the few people he knew outside of work.

Everything he had been told had led him here. The sign simply stated, "_The Dojo_." Apparently, this was the best place for people to learn several different styles of martial arts. He had actually driven by it several times until both Harry and Dudley had pointed it out to him.

He got out of the car and led the boys into the building. Harry and Dudley both stopped, gazing around at all the people practicing here. The building seemed much larger on the inside than it did on the outside. Vernon actually stopped at this, and then shook his head.

An older gentleman stopped the class and called another student up to finish their instruction, and then walked over. _What odd children. Such energy flowing from them._ "I am Sensei Uzuki. May I enquire as to what you are here for?"

"I want to enroll these two in your class. They've been playing at Martial Arts for several months now, and if they're this serious about it, I want them to have real instruction. They've already hurt each other enough." Vernon stated.

Uzuki looked over at the two boys. Noticing Dudley's arm in a cast he asked, "And would that include a broken arm?"

Vernon grimaced. "Yes, Harry broke Dudley's arm by blocking him. Incorrectly I'm assuming since it did break."

"I do not take children on as students usually, and especially not children who try to break the bones of their playmates. My lessons are not to be used as ways to hurt." Uzuki looked towards the children.

"Hey! I didn't mean to. I was just blocking like it showed in the book; it said nothing about breaking a bone. It didn't even say it was likely to bruise, like some of the blocks Dudley used sometimes." Harry protested. Both he and Dudley looked mad that the Sensei had thought they were trying to hurt each other.

"Oh really, and what book was this? How to hurt your friends without meaning to?" The Sensei almost laughed at the looks he was receiving from both boys now.

"No. It was a Tai Chi book that we had checked out of the library." This time it was Dudley who put in his two cents.

_Tai Chi? That may explain why these two have such interesting auras_. "Alright then. Can you show me the block you used against your friend here?" At Harry's look of fear, he shook his head. "Not on him again, just right there. I'd like to see what you did that broke his arm."

Harry breathed a sigh of relief, and took his stance. "Hold on a moment. Where'd you learn that stance?" Uzuki asked.

"From the last book we read. It was a Karate book." He replied.

"Ah, ok. That was not a Tai Chi stance. Continue on." Uzuki nodded.

Harry swung his arm out, elbow bent. At the last moment, his forearm turned and the edge of his arm stopped in midair. "Just like that sir."

_His aura didn't change in the slightest. He wasn't adding anything at all to it_. Uzuki shook his head. "That was not the block you used Mr. Harry. A punch coming at you from that angle would have hit you long before your block moved it out of the way. Do it again please, and this time the actual block you used on your friend there."

Harry scowled at the Sensei. "Alright."

To Uzuki's eyes, Harry's aura nearly disappeared as Harry got back into his stance. Swinging his arm out again and knifing the air with his forearm, Uzuki saw a weak blade of energy pull itself away from Harry's arm. _Most interesting. Although, even that weak it should have nearly pulverized his friend's bone, not just break it._

"I see. And you, can you show me the exact punch you threw at your friend here?" Uzuki motioned to Dudley at this. "I'd like to see how you did it."

At this, Vernon snorted. "Isn't a punch a punch? Just depends on where it hits."

Uzuki shook his head. "No, there are many different ways to punch. The way he did may explain why his arm was broken."

After getting a nod from his father, Dudley took up his own stance.

"Also taken from the same book that Harry found his stance in, correct Dudley?" Uzuki smiled at him as he said this.

Dudley just grinned and nodded. Again to Uzuki's eyes and slight surprise, the aura around Dudley shrank a bit. The glow seemed to envelop Dudley's arm as his arm shot out.

_Ahh, that is how. It was force versus force, and Harry's block was a bit stronger than Dudley's punch._ "I take it the two of you know the Tai Chi forms?" At the two nods, he continued, "Then please show the first one to me."

Both Harry and Dudley went through the form, while Uzuki watched.

Turning to Vernon, Uzuki smiled. "While I am going to have to go back and correct the errors in their forms," there were two insulted, "Hey!" at this, "I think that they will do fine. They seem to have the basics down enough that they should be able to keep up with the class. Would you like to discuss times and payment?"

Vernon and the boys' new Sensei walked off towards Uzuki's office.

Harry and Dudley stood where they were, watching the class. After a few minutes, the class broke up for a break and a few students came over.

"Hey, is that your Dad in there?" one of them asked.

"It's Dudley's Dad, he is my uncle." Harry replied.

"Ah, ok. Is he signing up? Didn't think he'd know enough of the basics for Sensei Uzuki to allow him into the class."

Dudley shook his head. "Nuh-uh. Me and Harry are going to join."

Several students' eyes widened at that comment. "No way. Who was your teacher before? Sensei Ramsus? Master Sigurd?"

Both boys shook their heads. "No, we learned the moves from library books."

A couple of students shook their heads. "Alright, whatever. I guess your previous teacher didn't want you to tell who taught you. You could have just said that." They turned around and went back to the main floor where the class was reforming. Sensei Uzuki was walking out of his office, with Vernon beside him.

"Alright Dudley, Harry. You two will be coming back for classes three days after you get your cast off, alright? You'll be doing three days a week here, two evenings and one day class. Think you can handle it?"

Dudley nodded excitedly. "Yeah, we can do that." He turned to Harry. "Now I can learn lots and be able to beat you fighting really quickly."

At this, Uzuki frowned. "No Dudley, you won't. First off, you will both be learning so Harry might just as easily be able to beat you. Secondly, you'll have to agree to my rules before you even begin your lessons."

"What are your rules, sir?" Harry questioned.

"First rule: Don't start a fight. That means no verbally or physically starting it. No mean words to other people, no making them angry enough to throw the first punch. No making the first attack either. Understood?"

Harry and Dudley nodded. "Yes sir."

Uzuki shook his head. "No, while you are here, I am Sensei, or Sensei Uzuki. Not sir, and not Mr. Uzuki. Alright? Anyways, second rule: While you cannot start a fight, end it. Quickly, and if possibly, painlessly. Your aim in my classes is not to harm someone else, but self-defense. Disable them however you can. Although, you will occasionally find a person who will not stay down and quit attacking, then you may take whatever means necessary to stop them. Only then. Got it?"

"Yes Sensei Uzuki."

"Third and last rule: My word is law in the building. If you want to argue with me, it's fine to do so, but you will do it in a respectful voice and you will do it calmly and thinking it through. If you don't want to do it that way, there are two choices. Leave my Dojo, or fight me. And I will not hold back." Sensei Uzuki's voice during his last sentence was extremely cold, and neither boy could stop a shudder. And neither disbelieved it.

"Yes Sensei Uzuki." They both repeated.

Their Sensei's manner changed abruptly, and he smiled at them. "Alright then students, I will see you back here Tuesday for your first class."

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

The ride back home was filled with a quiet excitement as Harry and Dudley talked about exactly what they were going to get to learn.

"Wonder if we're going to learn to break bricks and stuff just by tapping them?" Dudley whispered.

"That'd be neat. But didja notice how Mr. Uzuki was watching really close when you were doing your punch? I think he was when I showed him my block too." Harry mentioned.

Uncle Vernon broke in at this point. "_Sensei_ Uzuki, Harry. You heard his rules, and I agree with him. You should call him that even when you're not in his class so neither of you messes up."

Harry nodded. "Yes Uncle." He looked back at Dudley. "Alright then, didja notice Sensei Uzuki?"

Dudley thought for a moment, and then agreed. "He was watching you pretty close. He was probably just wanting to see how well we did the moves though."

With a small frown, Harry shook his head. "I dunno. Just seemed like… he was looking for something else. Oh well, guess we're going to find out sometime."

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

The next day was Dudley's appointment at the doctor for a checkup on his arm. They took him in for an x-ray, and came out looking puzzled.

"I guess we can take off your cast off today, Dudley. Your arm seems to have healed fully. Strange though... we weren't expecting it for another week or so." The doctor told everyone.

Both Dudley and Harry grinned, and then looked at each other. Dudley looked thoughtful for a minute. "Hey, Harry. You know what three days from now is, right?"

"It's… Tuesday? How did Sensei know that?" Harry whispered.

"Dunno, but we're definitely going to ask. Nicely of course." Dudley replied.

Vernon scowled. _Better not be anything freaky going on there._

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

That Tuesday, Vernon dropped Dudley and Harry off at the Dojo, wearing the uniforms that Vernon had ordered for them. The uniforms were simple white gi's, complete with a white belt tied at their waists. When they walked in, everyone turned to them and quiet laughs and snickers could be heard near them.

Sensei Uzuki walked up to them and smiled at them before turning to look at the other students. They quieted down and their new Sensei turned to face them again.

"I take it your guardian bought you those uniforms, correct?"

"Yes sir, Sensei Uzuki." Harry answered.

"No 'sir', please Harry. And I guessed this would happen. He didn't seem to take notice of what the students were wearing when he was in here last time."

Both boys looked again at their fellow students. They all wore pants that looked about like theirs, but they were all in dark colors. The shirts were all just grey t-shirts that loosely fit them.

"I took the liberty of acquiring suitable uniforms for you. They are in my office if you wish to change into them." Both nodded and rushed off to change in the office, not wanting to standout in the crowd. As the door closed, they heard the Sensei talk to the other students. "They may be young, but they-"

Quickly changing, they rushed back out onto the Dojo floor.

Sensei Uzuki turned to them and smiled. "Alright you two, join the ranks. Make sure there's about five feet between you and anyone else. This is the general class. You'll develop the basics you know, and branch out a bit into other forms.

"Now class, please begin with the Tai Chi forms." Good-natured groans. "Yes, yes. You all know them. Our two new students know them as well so they say, but I need to watch and correct them. If you finish them twice, you may move into your current skill forms."

The class started going through the forms as Sensei walked past them. Occasionally tapping a shoulder or a leg, moving them into the correct position. Coming up to Harry, he stopped him. "Begin with the first form again. Go slowly, so that I may correct your movements. Dudley, watch so that I won't have to correct the same mistakes in your movements."

Harry began moving, slowly sweeping his arms and legs in the forms that he had read from the book. Sensei Uzuki put a hand out occasionally, stopping a kick from going to high, adjusting a block, or twisting a fist into the correct punch.

After going through the same form several times, Sensei stepped back and nodded. "Good, keep going through just that way while I work with Dudley." Turning to face Dudley, he put him through the same form. There were only a few slight corrections he had to make, as Dudley had been watching carefully.

He repeated this for the second and third form that they both knew, and then motioned for them to continue with those. Turning back to the rest of the class, he worked with them for a while, occasionally going back to Harry and Dudley to work on their next form.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

That evening, after Vernon had taken them home, they sat up and discussed the day.

"It was really fun Daddy. We went through about five or six of the forms from our book, and he corrected what we did wrong. I could actually feel the difference. The punches and kicks and stuff felt a lot more powerful." Dudley was beaming as he spoke.

"And you Harry, how'd you like it?" His Aunt Petunia asked.

"It was fun Aunt Petunia. Thank you both for letting me join the class with Dudley."

Petunia smiled slightly at him, and nodded. "You're welcome."

Vernon didn't say anything about that, but did speak up. "Alright you two, time for bed."

Both nodded and Dudley ran upstairs to his room. Harry headed for his cupboard and opened the door. He was almost toppled by the toys that had been jammed into it from what looked like Dudley's second bedroom. Turning to his guardians, he asked, "Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon?"

Petunia looked at him and gave him a nice smile. The first he had seen from her towards him. "You've got Dudley's second bedroom now. I talked Vernon into it." Vernon just grunted at this. "Go get some rest."

Harry ran up to her and tried to hug her. She stopped him and bent down to his level. "Not right now, and not in front of your Uncle, Harry. He's going to be very touchy about Dudley giving up his room, so don't push him ok?"

Harry nodded, and smiled back to her. "Yes ma'am. Goodnight. Sleep well Uncle Vernon." Harry said as he raced up the stairs to his new bedroom.

* * *

A/N: I wasn't about to do the clichéd thing were new young students get ganged up on by older students, even though it would be a snub against canon Dudley. Besides, Uzuki's students are young adults. They're not going to gang up on 7 year olds. Geez, what kind of guy do you think I am? 

Beta by Dr. Gero.


	5. Chapter 4

**Clay Pinions**

**By Lochar**

Disclaimer: Found in previous chapters.

Chapter 4

* * *

Several weeks went by, with both Harry and Dudley working as hard as they could at _The Dojo._ Sensei Uzuki worked with them as much as they asked and could handle, with the results being that all the forms of Tai Chi that they knew were corrected within a short period of time. 

"Alright boys, you two have done very well. You've corrected yourselves on all of the forms you knew." Sensei told them. Both beamed at this. "Now we're going to begin with some more advanced forms. Quite a bit of this is old hat to the rest of the students, but they need to keep in practice anyways. So they'll be helping to correct you two once you get the basics of it down."

Harry nodded. Dudley was grinning and looked to be nearly bouncing at the chance to learn new moves.

"Yes Sensei Uzuki. We'll learn them as quick as we can so that we can get to the rest of the class's level." Harry said. He looked about ready to jump into anything as well.

Uzuki chuckled. "No doubt both of you will. You both have quite the knack for learning."

Dudley frowned, but then shook it off. Uzuki noticed this, but didn't mention anything in front of the class. "Alright, here's how this one goes." With that, he began to show them their next form.

Later that evening, Uzuki held them back. "Boys, if you'd come into my office with me for a moment?" Harry and Dudley threw each other a look, wondering what they had done. "Don't worry, you're not in trouble, I just want to talk."

They nodded, and followed him into his office. Uzuki closed the door and bade them to sit down. They did and he sat down across from them.

"Now, Dudley. Earlier when I was talking about you two learning the new moves, you frowned at something. Care to share? You won't get into any trouble with me, I promise."

Dudley shook his head. "No Sensei, it isn't that. We both love learning the new stuff, right Harry?" At this, Harry nodded his agreement. "It's just that I'm not doing all that well in school. It's hard to even get C's in my classes."

Uzuki smiled. "Ahh, ok. Have you thought to ask your parents for help with the class work?"

Dudley nodded. "Yeah, but they say it's the school system's fault. I should easily be able to do anything that Harry can. My Dad says that they're b-biased against me and to Harry."

Uzuki raised an eyebrow. _Sounds like Mr. Dursley thinks his son can do no wrong._ "And what about your Mum? What does she think?"

"She said that it's been too long since she was in school, and I should find someone that will know it better than she would."

"Ah. And have you asked at school if there is someone who can help you? Maybe a teacher during lunch or some such?"

At this, a forlorn look went over Dudley's face. "That's the problem. I don't understand it the way the teachers explain it."

Uzuki sighed. _I should not be the one having this conversation. His parents seem to be lacking in this department._ _Wait…_ "Harry, how are your grades?"

Harry started at being brought into the conversation suddenly. "Pretty good Sensei. Mostly A's and B's."

_Thought so. _"So Dudley, why have you not asked your cousin to try to explain it differently to you?"

Dudley's face lit up. "Harry, would you? Please?"

"Sure. It's not a problem for me. I'll help you if I can."

"Good then. Dudley, if you would, I'd like to see your report card the next time you get it. I'd rather not have a student of mine having problems with his school classes."

"Yes Sensei."

Harry looked thoughtful for a moment. "Sensei, may I ask a question?"

"You just did, but you may ask another one if you wish." Uzuki replied with a grin.

Harry and Dudley both smiled at that. "Well, remember when my uncle came here with us the first time? You said you'd see us three days after Dudley got his cast off. You even said the correct day. The doctors said that his arm shouldn't have healed that quick. How did you know?"

Their Sensei thought for a moment. "When you've taught this class as long as I have, you tend to develop a sixth sense for, hmm, I guess you could call it, 'life energy'. When Dudley did his punch, I could sense the energy flowing through his arm. Very little of it went the wrong way into what would have been the broken bone. Both of you have a lot of this life energy in you; enough that you probably helped yourself heal quicker Dudley."

An awed look swept both boys' faces. "You mean I made myself heal quicker? Can you do that? Could I do it even faster? Like if I broke my arm again, it would only take a week to heal? Is that possible Sensei?" The rapid-fire questions coming from Dudley brought a smile to Uzuki's face.

"Yes, a bit, with enough training, possibly, and yes to your questions in that order. Now I think you two need to get going, as it looks like your ride has been waiting on you." Uzuki pointed out towards the door out of the building, where Vernon was sitting on a bench, with a somewhat amused smile on his face.

"Thank you Sensei. May we be excused then?" Harry asked as they both stood up.

"Yes you may." Dudley and Harry bowed to him, and ran out to meet Vernon.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Later that night, Vernon, Petunia, Dudley and Harry sat at the dinner table in what had almost become a ritual after one of their classes. Dudley would talk excitedly about what had happened while his parents would listen and Harry would sit there quietly. Occasionally, Petunia would direct a question about the day to Harry and he'd answer with just as much energy and enthusiasm as Dudley had.

"And while we were taking a break because of one of the advanced students was trying to break a whole bunch of boards and Sensei Uzuki had to help him set them up, we heard that it was the most he'd tried to break by like three or four. There had to be like eight boards stacked together. He paced around a bunch, and then walked up to the boards and then walked away again. He paced some more and then came back up to it again and he took a deep breath and then yelled really loud and punched the boards. He broke all of them too! It was really cool! His hand didn't even look hurt or anything like that, and it didn't seem like he hurt himself doing that. I can't wait until I can do that too. Sensei won't let us try to break more than one board at a time." This was all rushed out as Dudley seemed to be bouncing in his seat explaining what had happened.

Petunia smiled indulgently at him. "You're not even nine yet Sweetums. Your Sensei doesn't want you to hurt yourself trying to break that many boards. Do you want to have to wear a cast again if your break your hand trying to do it?"

At this, Harry spoke up. "But Dudley wouldn't have to wear it for very long. Sensei Uzuki said that we've both got a bunch of life energy that would help us heal faster. He said that it's possible that if Dudley broke his arm again, he might only have to wear a cast for a week. That'd be really cool."

Vernon sucked in a deep breath, and turned towards Harry. "What did you say?" His face was slowly starting to turn pink.

Harry, scared because he hadn't seen his uncle like this for almost a year now, tried to shrink into his chair. "S-S-S- Sensei U-Uzuki said we both have a bunch of life energy that would make it easier for broken bones to heal quicker." He managed to stammer out.

Vernon looked to Petunia, who shook her head slightly. He let his breath out in a loud 'Whoosh' and got up from the table. "I'm going to go read the paper." With that, he walked out of the kitchen and they could hear him sit in his chair.

Harry looked to his aunt. "What did I do wrong Aunt Petunia? How'd I make Uncle Vernon mad? I didn't mean too." Both Harry and Dudley looked about to cry. "He's not going to take us from our class, is he?"

Petunia pulled them both into a hug. "No, he won't. He just doesn't like anything strange like that. I'll make sure that he doesn't keep you out of your class, alright?"

She received a pair of teary-eyed nods at that, along with big smiles. "Now is there anything else fun that happened today that you want to tell me about?"

Dudley nodded. "Yeah. Sensei Uzuki suggested that Harry help me with my schoolwork."

"That's a good idea. But Harry, don't let your grades suffer either to help Dudley. If it gets too much, ask me and I'll try to work with the both of you. Although, I'd probably hold both of you back with my bad math skills." She smiled and both boys laughed a little. "Now you two go upstairs and work on your homework. I'm going to talk to Vernon."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

_Whatever Aunt Petunia said to Uncle Vernon worked._ Harry thought as they went back to class for their next session. _We didn't even have to sit out one class while she talked to him._

That day, Sensei Uzuki took them aside again, but this time right before class was supposed to begin.

"I had a very interesting phone call from your Dad. He asked me some of the strangest questions. Told me to quit putting nonsense into you two about life energy and such. Then you mum got on and shouted at him and apologized to me. Any reasons why?"

Harry paled, and Dudley didn't look much better.

"Uncle Vernon doesn't like strange things. He wants things to be perfectly ordinary. I guess the life energy thing we told him you told us was strange to him. We didn't know it would make him that mad Sensei."

"I'm not blaming either of you. I just wanted to hear your side of the story as well. Alright then, go join the rest of the class."

Both ran off and joined the class, as Uzuki walked behind them chuckling. _I was right, I guess. At least one of the adults in that house seems to have an open mind._

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Six weeks passed, with Harry and Dudley both pushing as hard as they could to get to the rest of the class's level. They had finished with the Tai Chi and were being slowly introduced to the basics of Karate, Judo, and Aikido.

Dudley rushed into Uzuki's office, waving a piece of paper. "Sensei, Sensei, I did it! I did it!"

"Oh, and what have you managed to do?" Uzuki asked.

"I got good grades! Harry helped me study and showed me how to do the work a different way and I managed to get good grades!"

"And what did your parents have to say?"

"They were really happy for me. Dad called me a chip off the old block, and Mum said we could have whatever I wanted for dinner tonight. Dad even sorta smiled at Harry for once!" Dudley seemed to be bouncing around.

"I take it that is your report card?" Uzuki asked and Dudley nodded. "May I see it?" Dudley grinned and handed it to him. "All B's but one A. Congratulations are in order Dudley."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

The months passed as Dudley and Harry went to school and their evening classes at _The Dojo._ They progressed through the lessons they were taught, absorbing as much as they could as quickly as they could.

Before they knew it, a little over a year had passed and Dudley was turning ten.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

_June 23 - Dudley's Tenth Birthday_

It was a quiet birthday party, as most of Dudley's friends were gone for summer vacation.

"So, what do you hope that you got for your birthday Dudley?" Harry asked as they practiced outside.

"Hope I get a new punching bag! It's hard to practice my moves on you since you won't stay still long enough for me to hit you." Dudley laughed as he replied.

"Hey, I'm not about to stand still for your punches. Sensei just let you try breaking two boards last week and you did it without even scratching yourself. No way you're getting any free hits on me." Harry grinned at him.

Stopping and turning towards Harry, Dudley smiled. "Oh yeah?" He leapt at him, throwing a kick out trying to hit him. Harry dropped to the ground underneath the kick and tripped him. Dudley fell and rolled backwards to get up. The boys started to circle each other, looking for an opening.

Petunia came out of the backdoor and saw the two of them. "DUDLEY DURSLEY! HARRY POTTER! Both of you get inside right NOW! DON'T RUIN YOUR CLOTHES OUT THERE!"

Both boys stopped immediately, and turned. "Yes Sensei Mum!" "Yes Sensei Aunt Petunia!" They grinned and ran inside.

Shaking her head, she followed them in. "You two ought to have known better. Those are good clothes you're wearing for your party this afternoon. If you don't want to be standing in your underclothes while those wash, then don't get them dirty."

Smiling at the blush both boys had, she laughed. "Just change next time; that's what you have those ratty clothes for, ok?"

At their nods, she continued. "You two don't look too bad, so just go wash up."

They ran upstairs and Petunia turned to Vernon, who was sitting at the table. "I'm telling Harry on his birthday." He just grunted. "He needs to know ahead of time dear." Another grunt. "You know, Dudley could get the letter too." Vernon looked up, startled at this. "If there was one in my family, there could be more. I doubt it, and so does he, but it could happen."

Vernon shook his head. "My boy will not be going there. End of story."

Petunia sighed. "Vernon, if he gets the letter…"

"Well, we'll decide then. I still say no, but you've changed my mind before. Don't think you'll do it this time though." With that, Vernon would say no more on the subject.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

_July 31_

"Happy Birthday Harry."

Harry looked up, startled. "Oh, hello Aunt Petunia. Thank you." He hadn't even expected that much from her. Dudley had told him that morning, and that had surprised him as well.

She sat down on his bed and looked at him. "Do you mind if we talk for a few minutes Harry?"

Harry nodded, and put his book down. "Yes Ma'am?"

Petunia was quiet for a long moment. "Harry, we've always told you that your parents died in a car wreck, right?" He nodded. "They didn't. The night before you were given to us, they were murdered."

Harry gasped. "Who?"

Petunia shook her head. "I'm not sure. But it's part of the story I'm going to tell you." She then went on to explain what she knew about the Wizarding World. When his mother got her letter in the summer of her eleventh birthday, and what little she knew about his dad.

"Nothing good ever came to my sister because of that magic stuff. Except maybe her husband. I didn't like him, but he treated her as if she walked on water. She grew up going to that school, and died before she should have. We never really got along, but we never did have a chance to make things up."

"Do you think I'll end up getting that letter, Aunt Petunia?" Harry asked.

"Probably. You've done a few things over the years that are most likely magic."

"But what if I don't want to go? If bad things happen because of magic, I don't want it."

"Harry, not all bad things come from it. The magic people were at war at the time. Think about it for a while. I don't want you to make up your mind right now. If you want to talk, just come get me. Just don't do it when your Uncle is around. He can't stand even the thought of it." She pulled him into a hug. "You're a good boy Harry. Even if your Uncle still doesn't really like you. I couldn't get you a present, but I hope the truth about your parents and everything else is enough."

Harry was crying by this point. "Thank you Aunt Petunia." He managed to get through his tears.

She got up. "You're welcome Harry." She unlocked the door, walked out and closed the door behind her.

* * *

There's Chapter 4. Please. If you're reading this, review it. Chapter 3 had about two hundred views, but only two reviews.

Beta'd by Dr. Gero. Great guy.


	6. Chapter 5

Clay Pinions By Lochar

Disclaimer: Yadda yadda yadda, don't own it, etc., etc.

* * *

Chapter 5 

_August 1st_

He was in the tree in the backyard, pondering a simple fact. Harry was confused. The source of his confusion wasn't a new source, as his Aunt Petunia had always been a bit on both sides of everything. It was what he had been told that had him confused.

"Magic? How could it be real?" He wondered. "And it was because of magic that my parents… But Aunt Petunia said it was because they were in a war. How would a war happen and no one else notice? Could she be being mean again, and just messing with me?"

His mind just went in circles, asking the same questions. Did he want to be able to use this magic if it might put him in a war? _Although, how could a war last for the past nine years that I've been living with Aunt Petunia?_ So caught up in his thoughts, he didn't notice Dudley walk up to the base of the tree.

"Hey Harry! What ya doing up there? Wanna spar?" Dudley shouted up at him.

"Huh?" Looking down, Harry realized what Dudley said and shrugged. "Oh, yeah. Sure." He climbed down to his cousin.

"Cool. Rules are normal, like what Sensei has us do at _The Dojo_, ok?"

Harry nodded, still somewhat lost in his thoughts. Both boys got into their stances.

Dudley made the first move, jumping quickly into the fight with a quick punch towards Harry's chest. Harry took a step back, and pushed his hand out of the way, pushing Dudley's arm off to the side, leaving his center open. He threw a punch at Dudley, who blocked it with his other arm, swinging it down and stopping the punch.

Dudley spun around with a roundhouse towards Harry's head, which he dodged by dropping backwards to the ground. His foot went out and tripped Dudley, who went down as well, and both boys quickly jumped back to their feet.

They smiled at each other, and Harry moved first this time. Still thinking about what his aunt had told him, he wasn't keeping good control over his energy. Dudley, sensing somewhat the power behind the attack, did the only thing he could do. Letting go of his own control, he quickly found his own energy, what Sensei Uzuki had termed as Chi.

_**FLASHBACK:**_

"_Alright class, as the first step into the intermediary levels, you will be learning to harness and focus your life energies. All of you have either learned to do this by yourselves at a very rudimentary level, or you have done it subconsciously." Sensei Uzuki told the class._

"_This life energy is called Chi. Used properly, it can be used defensively, offensively, and even for healing. Those of you that have used it before consciously, you may still not have found your core of energy. Everyone, please sit down on the floor, in whatever style you think will help you meditate the best._

"_Now close your eyes. Imagine your fingertips, and follow the energy in them back to the center of your body. Let your mind follow the natural paths it takes, no matter how strange the paths it goes may seem. If, after ten minutes or more, you can't seem to find an end to it, try with a different part of your body. Your toes, for example. Any part of your body that you know can have a lot of power in it. Mr. Dursley, for example, might find it best to use the arm he broke, as he subconsciously used his Chi to help himself heal." Dudley reddened at this. "When you find this energy, please hold onto it, but don't do anything with it. This might take several weeks for everyone to find it. After this, we will learn to harness the energy. It will be just like a muscle. The more you use it, the more powerful it grows."_

_**End Flashback.**_

_Hope this works. _Dudley thought, as he channeled as much of his energy into a block as he could. They had only been taught to use the energy for the past couple of weeks, and had been warned not to try to use it outside of class for now.

Had Dudley thought about it, he probably would have found it ironic that it was the opposite of how he had broken his arm.

Either way, Dudley blocked the attack, and Harry's arm was knocked completely off course. No bones were broken this time, but Harry, not realizing his Chi had started to come out, realized that Dudley did.

Frowning, he let go of his own control, and the boys started fighting in earnest.

Dudley, who had managed to start picking up the lessons involved in sensing energy faster than Harry had, took a step back when he felt Harry's energy release. He jumped back even farther when Harry threw a powerful punch right towards his stomach, which just barely missed him.

Gone were the stances, forms, and taught fighting styles from Harry's moves. _He used his Chi at me first! Sensei said we shouldn't use it outside of class!_ His confusion over Aunt Petunia was now changed to anger at Dudley for violating what their Sensei had told them. "You broke Sensei Uzuki's rule Dudley! How could you?" Dudley by this time had backed up against the tree.

Dudley shook his head. "You did it too! You lost some of your control, and I had to break his rule to stop your attack!"

Harry shook his head. "Huh?"

A nod. "Yeah! When we were sparring, you looked like you spaced out for a moment, then I felt some of your energy in that punch I blocked. Then you went ballistic on me."

Harry sunk to the ground and sighed. "Sorry Dudley. I didn't mean to. Something your Mum told me yesterday is messing with me."

Dudley sat down in front of him and looked around. "What'd she say?"

"Something about how my parents died, and a couple of other things." He replied.

"Oh, ok. I take it you don't want to talk about it then?"

"Yeah, if that's ok with you."

Dudley nodded, and a relieved look went over Harry's face. "But we're still telling Sensei Uzuki what happened, even if we don't tell him why you lost control."

Harry sighed, but nodded. "Alright. But we're telling him you broke your control too."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

_Ministry of Magic, Department of Underage Magic_

Madam Hopkirk frowned at the paper that just appeared on her desk.

_August 1, multiple unwanded energy bursts detected in Muggle area known as Little Whinging. Records state one magical child living in vicinity. Accidental magic by child assumed._

She turned to face her colleagues. "Anyone know who the kid in Little Whinging is? Doesn't have a name on the write up."

Everyone looked around. "Nope, but doesn't that normally mean a Muggle-born?" someone asked.

"Usually, but it has the name most of the time." She replied.

"Well, if they had been brought up in the Wizarding world, then it would have had a name." Another mentioned.

"Unless someone had changed the records." A third laughed.

Madam Hopkirk nodded, filed the paper under _Underage Magic, Accidental-unwanded_ and promptly forgot about it.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

August 2nd, _The Dojo_

Aunt Petunia had dropped them off early, and Harry was apprehensive about explaining what happened to Sensei Uzuki.

"Guess we might as well get this over with, right?" Dudley asked. He seemed nervous as well.

"Yeah, he's going to want to know why we're here early anyways." Harry agreed.

Both boys made sure they were nowhere close to using their Chi energy, and walked into the building. They found Sensei Uzuki hanging up a punching bag.

"Sensei, can we speak to you in your office?" Harry asked.

Uzuki turned around. "Confession time, right?" He said with a smile.

Both boys gulped and nodded. "Yes."

Uzuki motioned them towards his office. "Come on then."

Harry and Dudley sat down in the chairs, while Uzuki remained standing. "Alright, what's eating you two up?"

They looked down. Harry mumbled, "We broke your rules. We accidentally used our Chi when we were sparring."

Uzuki nodded. "Alright. Did anyone get hurt?"

Dudley shook his head. "No Sensei, but almost. If I hadn't jumped back in time, Harry was going to hit me in my stomach."

A sigh. "Do you know why I put that rule in place?"

"Yes Sensei. So that we didn't hurt ourselves." Both boys said.

"Exactly. And for your knowledge, that's the first time I've had to make that rule. Normally, my students have to build up to having enough energy to actually hurt someone as much as you two could do. Dudley, you've got as much Chi as three of the students in your class. Harry, you've got probably the same amount as your whole class, minus Dudley. Without training in how to control the Chi for protection as well as attacking, you could have killed each other."

Harry and Dudley, stunned at how much Chi they apparently had, turned dead white at Uzuki's second statement.

"Exactly. Now, class is about to start so let's go out there. I'll decide your punishment and tell you after class. But I think we're going to start a new lesson today. I wasn't going to do it until next time, but I think I'll bump it up on the schedule." He motioned to them to follow.

They trailed behind Uzuki as he walked out of his office and back onto the main floor. He motioned for the class to sit down, and he sat in front of them. "Alright class, today's lesson is going to be another Chi technique. Everyone close your eyes and imagine a black nothing."

Everyone closed their eyes. Uzuki waited a few minutes, and then spoke again. "Please, everyone, keep your eyes closed. Do not open them to look around or anything." A few snickers were heard. "Alright, now imagine a flame. Just a flame. Nothing on fire, just a flame in the darkness."

After another moment, he spoke again. "Now, if you all have a good flame in your mind, I want you to take the random thoughts and emotions going around in this darkness and burn them with the flame, until there is nothing left but the flame and the empty darkness."

The older students seemed to be struggling, while the teens, Dudley, and Harry seemed able to concentrate on the flame.

"When you have nothing but the flame and the darkness, I want you to nod your head twice."

The older students were the first to nod, and then the younger ones eventually followed.

"You're probably having a hard time keeping new thoughts and emotions from going by, but that will get easier. What you want to do now, is wrap the darkness around you, but keep the flame outside of the darkness now."

All the students stilled as they attempted this. After five minutes, Uzuki spoke again. "If you've managed this part, nod." No one nodded.

"As I expected. Alright, in your mind, put out the flame and allow everything burned to come back. Then you may open your eyes, and we'll start warm ups." He stood up, and waited for the rest of the class. "Oh, and by the way. If while practicing this, you use your Chi outside of class, you will finish this training, and then you will be asked to leave _The Dojo_. Is that understood?"

Everyone nodded, with both Harry and Dudley nodding as fast as they could.

At the end of class, Uzuki came to Harry and Dudley again. "Would either of you like to talk and explain why you lost control?"

Harry nodded. "It was my fault Sensei. Dudley just did it to keep up with me."

Uzuki nodded. "Alright then. Dudley, you may go wait with your mother. I want to have a conversation with Harry."

They walked into Uzuki's office, and he turned to Harry. "Alright, since you admit you started it, what happened?"

Thinking for a long moment, Harry slowly replied. "Aunt Petunia told me about my parents and how they died. And she told me about a school they went to and I was signed up for as well, but it's a school where you go and live at, and I'm supposed to be going there next year. I've been thinking about that a lot, and wasn't concentrating on my sparring with Dudley."

"Ah, I see. Hold on just a moment." He walked to his office door and motioned for Dudley to come in. Dudley sat down in the extra chair and looked to Uzuki. "Alright, I know you two are expecting punishment for breaking my rule, right?" Two nods. "Alright, here it is. You two are not to spar or practice at all outside of class for the next two weeks. If you've gotten the current lesson by then, you'll be allowed to spar again. Otherwise, it will be another two weeks. And even if you manage to learn the technique the next day, it will still be two weeks."

They nodded, relieved that their punishment wasn't too horrible. "Yes Sensei. But can we practice with the flame and the darkness outside of class?" Harry asked.

"Yes you may. You'll probably have to unless you want to be attempting this for several months."

He got up and led them out, where he explained to Petunia his decision. "Ma'am, they're not to practice sparring or any of the stances and forms until I deem them ready. They're being punished." Petunia frowned, but nodded. "They'll probably be spacing out quite a bit between classes though, they are allowed to practice a meditation technique. It's to help them so they don't make the same mistakes they did before."

Petunia nodded. "Alright then. Come on you two, time to go home."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Every day for the next three weeks, if Petunia or Vernon were looking for the boys, they could be found in the backyard, eyes closed, attempting the meditation technique. Of course, Vernon had went off the handle quickly, yelling about freakish things. Petunia had managed to talk him down, but it had taken some doing.

_**FLASHBACK:**_

"_DUDLEY! What in the blazes are you doing?" Vernon turned around to Harry. "Boy! Exactly what freakish thing did you introduce my son to?" Vernon's face was starting to turn a deep red. He grabbed Harry by the arms and shook him._

"_Uncle Vernon, it's a technique that our Sensei said we had to learn before he'd teach us anything else!" Harry managed to get out._

"_Oh no. I signed Dudley up to learn to fight, not to learn to sit around and pretend to be thinking really hard.'_

Better not tell him the object is to not think of anything at all. _Harry thought to himself._

_Vernon stormed into the house, apparently intent on calling their Sensei. Dudley and Harry looked at each other and winced. It was not going to be a pretty argument between Uncle Vernon and their Sensei. Then they heard Aunt Petunia yelling at him._

"_It's not just that Vernon. They got in trouble and this is to teach them to not do it."_

"_Dudders wouldn't be getting into trouble if it weren't for that boy! He broke his arm before, and he's probably the cause of it now!"_

"_He's got nothing to do with it, they're both in trouble!"_

_It got quiet after that, and both Harry and Dudley decided that they didn't need to practice today until they were told it was okay. Instead, they just climbed up into the tree and spent the afternoon talking._

_That evening, Vernon came to them._

"_Fine, go ahead and practice your ruddy technique. But mark my words, if anything freaky starts happening, I'm going to punish you boy. And it won't be something as silly as no practicing outside of class." He grimaced towards Harry at this._

_Harry nodded, and Dudley hugged his dad._

**_END FLASHBACK_.**

Finally, three days before the four-week mark, Harry managed to do it.

"YES!" And with that, his concentration shattered, and the darkness keeping the flame from Harry disappeared from his mind. "Dang it. Lost it." He sat back down.

"Harry, why'd you have to do that? I almost had it!" Dudley yelled at him.

"Because I did have it for a moment. It's really hard to hold though." He explained.

Dudley looked at him. "Well be quiet so I can try too. I'm not going to have to spend another two weeks without being able to spar at all." With that, Dudley closed his eyes and leaned back against the tree again.

Harry laughed. "Yeah, and we both need to be able to do it for more than a second or two. Sensei would probably laugh if we considered that knowing the technique." Harry closed his eyes as well, and focused again on the flame.

Drawing his emotions out had to be the hardest part, he considered. Taking all of his excitement over being able to do it, then the let down of losing it, he fed it into the flame again. In his mind, the flame seemed to grow bigger. He kept feeding it until nothing else was in his mind but the flame and the darkness.

Carefully, he pushed the flame away and wrapped himself in the black darkness. The flame was outside again. Excitement went through him again, and cracks appeared in the wall between him and the flame. He tried to calm down, but lost it all again.

"Got it." Dudley whispered.

Harry opened his eyes and turned to Dudley. "Still got it though?"

Dudley nodded slowly. "Figured it out." He spoke slowly, obviously trying not to break his concentration. "Keep feeding the flame, even while it's outside the wall."

Harry nodded and tried. He managed to keep it up for almost a minute before the feeling of exuberance became too much and he lost it again. He opened his eyes to see Dudley watching him.

"Lost it again?" Harry nodded. "Yeah, so did I. Maybe it's enough for Sensei?"

Harry shrugged. "Maybe, but I don't want to keep losing it. He's got to know a way to hold onto it longer. We'll ask him tomorrow after class."

* * *

As always, thanks to Dr. Gero for beta. 

Thanks for all the reviews people.

**rankokunalpha1**: Thanks, I'll try to keep it interesting.

**DrakeHouse**: Glad to have your review then. Hope I get another.

**Tiny tiny Hermit**: No, Dudley won't be going to Hogwarts. I have other plans for him. :D You're my most faithful reviewer. grin

**Akusai**: You'll find out how Harry's going to continue to get training.

**ender2000**: Vernon doesn't like Harry. Never has, probably never will. He only humors him for Dudley's sake. Petunia is a blood relation, and after seeing him good for Dudley for several years has softened her for him.


	7. Chapter 6

  
Clay Pinions By Lochar 

Disclaimer: Don't own it. Move along.

A/N: All questions about Harry's continued training will eventually be answered. Just not right now. Also of note. This story is on 16 story alerts. Could I have reviews from 1/4th of you?

Thoughts 

"Speak"

Chapter 6

* * *

"Practice."

That was the answer given to Harry and Dudley when they asked how to hold what Sensei Uzuki termed, 'The Flame and the Void'.

"You must get used to it, so that you don't get excited knowing you've managed it."

So they practiced. For the whole week left of their punishment, they practiced. Of course, this wasn't without its bad side. Harry and Dudley also learned to stay out of Vernon's way because his face turned purple after watching his 'Dudders' doing "freaky, unnatural things."

By the end of the week, Harry had managed to keep himself in the Void for almost five minutes. Dudley had managed a good three.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

_August 30th, The Dojo_

"After you get to the point where it starts to feel natural, you should be able to hold the Void for as long as you need to. You are already able to open your eyes and move around. But you should not try to live in it though; your emotions are helpful, just not particularly when you're using your Chi." Sensei Uzuki told the class. "Let's start again with your basic forms. Focus on the movements while trying to keep a hold on the Void."

Everyone in the class started back at their first forms, Tai Chi, Judo, Karate, whichever they knew best.

Harry got into his Tai Chi form, and slowly started working through it. Halfway through, he lost his concentration and lost the Void. "Dang it. Sensei Uzuki? Should we keep going through with the form, or start over?"

Uzuki walked over to him. "Start over. You need to be able to hold onto the Void from beginning to end."

Harry nodded. "Alright Sensei." He closed his eyes and surrounded himself with the Void, making sure to feed any new emotions through it, into his flame.

Uzuki's eyes narrowed as he watched.

Harry's aura of Chi dimmed considerably as he started through the form. The aura stayed the same throughout the form except at the final punch to end it, when his aura shrunk to almost nothing, although no energy was pushed from the punch.

Harry collapsed onto the floor, sweat drenching his shirt. Uzuki sat down next to him.

"Very good Harry. But why are you so tired?"

"'Cause… 'cause…" Harry panted, then took a deep breath and swallowed. "The form seemed to…" Harry paused for a moment, apparently looking for the correct word, "It was like a wave. It just went and went and went. Then at the end, it wanted to crash like a wave on a beach, but I wouldn't let it. But it was really, really hard to stop it. It was like trying to put a wall down the whole beach to stop the wave."

Uzuki nodded. _Clearly, this boy is going to drive me nuts. I am having to keep jumping lessons, or stopping certain ones just because of him or his cousin._ At this thought, Uzuki looked over towards Dudley.

Dudley had been doing a Karate form, but Uzuki could see his Chi wasn't being controlled.

"Dudley. Use the Void, please. It makes no sense for me to teach you something, only to not have you do it."

Dudley looked at him and almost whined. "But Sensei, it's so hard."

Uzuki shook his head. "You're not going to get any farther in this class if you don't. And remember my rule: My word is law. You don't like it, fight. So use the Void."

Dudley glared. "Fine." He started through the form, and Uzuki had to take a few steps back.

_Good Lord. It's control, but chaotic._ Dudley's Chi aura had dimmed, but every punch, every block, every kick had a finite amount of energy coming from him. Uzuki motioned the class back, including Harry. _He's channeling his Chi into every move, but it's very ill-controlled. _"Dudley! Enough!"

Dudley shook his head. "No, I'm using the Void like you wanted me to." He continued going through each form, nothing graceful at all about it. Each one of Dudley's movements was about force, and how much he could put into each one.

A short moment later, he collapsed like Harry had.

"Are you feeling any better now?" Uzuki walked up and asked Dudley. "Did you burn enough of your Chi?"

"Sorry… Sensei…" Dudley wheezed out.

He chuckled. "I take it you burned your anger out as well." He turned to the class. "And _that_ class, is why using the Void is interesting. Dudley managed to use some of his Chi while in the Void. It's why he's wiped out. He doesn't have enough to keep going, and he wasn't using it correctly."

Uzuki looked to Dudley again. "I'm tempted to give you another week or so punishment, but you were following what I said to the letter, so I can't blame you." He chuckled. "Maybe next time when I say enough is enough, you'll listen though." He faced the class. "Alright everyone. Now that those two are worn out, I'll start showing you how to bring your Chi into the Void. Harry, Dudley, if you can't follow along, you'll have to stay late to get the lesson."

Harry managed to get up into a sitting position at this, while Dudley just stayed lying on his back.

"I'm going to listen Sensei." Harry said with a grin. Dudley didn't say anything.

"How about you?" Uzuki asked Dudley. "Will you follow the lesson as well?"

"No promises Sensei. I'm really tired."

At this, Uzuki smiled again. "Maybe Harry can help you with it then."

Harry's eyes lit up. "I could teach him?"

"Only if you learn the lesson well enough, and Dudley doesn't. Anyway… Class, I want you to sit again, like the meditation for the Void. Surround yourself with the Void once more."

Everyone was able to easily do this. Uzuki watched the auras of the class die down, as they shielded themselves from their emotions.

"Good. Now, remember when I taught you to find your Chi?" Nods from various parts of the class. "Find it again, and bring it inside the Void with you.

He was not surprised to find that no auras flared after a few minutes. "The problem with this is your emotions made your Chi stand out more. Separated from your emotions for the moment, it is much harder to find. Take all the time you need. If you need to move around, change positions or whatnot, you may."

At this, several students got up and started walking around. Harry just changed to sitting cross-legged, and Dudley didn't do anything.

After ten minutes of trying to find his Chi, Harry started to get frustrated. After fifteen, he started getting angry with himself. _Dang it, can't lose the Void._ Taking his anger, he pushed it at the flame, calming himself down a bit so that he didn't lose the Void again.

Uzuki's head turned towards Harry. _I know his aura just flared slightly…_ He frowned. _Maybe not._

Harry shook his head. "This isn't doing anything." He stood up. "Maybe if I moved around a bit." He started walking around, concentrating on finding his Chi, just barely dodging his classmates, trying everything he had been taught to bring his Chi up to where he could see it in his mind.

A loud yell broke his concentration and the Void disappeared, along with the flame. He looked up and scowled at the guy who had yelled, then slightly smiled as he saw Sensei congratulating him on finding his Chi in the Void.

"Yeah, but can you not yell? You made me lose my Void." Harry said.

"If you lost it that easily, then you won't be able to hold it when you find your Chi." Uzuki said. "Your Chi will put a strain on your Void, as it will not be completely empty. You have to be able to balance your Chi within the Void so it doesn't break it, but you can't lose your hold on your Chi either."

At this, the other student nodded. "Yeah, soon as I got it, a second later they were both gone." He laughed. "At least I got it for a moment."

"How'd you manage to find it?" Another student asked.

Before he could answer, Uzuki stopped him. "It is for you to find. The first time you find it is the way you'll always be able to find it easiest. If you did it his way, you'd have to work harder to control it."

Harry nodded, and walked over to Dudley. "So, how're you doing at finding it?"

Dudley grinned up at him. "What makes you think I'm not just trying to sleep?"

"The fact that Sensei would probably be mad if you did?"

"Yeah, yeah. Get me on the easy ones. I'm just floating around in my Void looking for it. Still haven't found anything yet." Dudley said.

Harry nodded. "Neither have I." He wandered off, leaving Dudley staring at the ceiling. He thought of the form he had done earlier. _I wonder what would have happened if I hadn't tried to stop that wave? Could that have been my Chi?_ Determined to find out, Harry concentrated on the Void. He started through the form, slowly going from one move to another.

Uzuki felt the dimming of Harry's Chi before he saw it. He turned around as Harry was halfway through the form. "Harry." No response. "Harry!" Again, Harry was concentrating too hard on the form and holding onto the Void to notice. Uzuki sighed. _I'm really going to be hated for this one._ He let go of his own Chi, and shouted as loud as he could. "HARRY!" The word boomed around the room.

Startled by the immense feeling of his Sensei's Chi, and the booming voice yelling at him, Harry stumbled and lost the Void and the motions of the form. As he was in the middle of a kick, he fell down onto his back.

He quickly stood back up and faced his Sensei. "Y-y-yes Sensei?"

Uzuki winced at the scared tone coming from his student. The rest of the room seemed to have been bowled over as well by the amount of Chi his aura had held. Dudley was sitting now, trying to hold himself straight up. "Harry, if you're going to do that looking for your Chi, please don't do it near anyone else."

Harry nodded. "I'm sorry Sensei. I didn't know, and I'm really, really, really sorry about making you mad."

He shook his head. "I'm not mad at you; but if that had worked for you, it might have ended up hurting someone if they were near you."

Harry looked around him and nodded. "I'm sorry Sensei. May I try again on the other side of the room?"

Uzuki waved him off. "You may."

Harry grinned at him and started over to the other side of the room. But not before stopping at Dudley. "Try it." He whispered to him. "Pick your favorite form and push everything you can at the Void."

Dudley grinned at him as he walked off. "Maybe, but not right now. I am _SO_ tired." He fell back onto his back. "Sensei was right, that did take a lot out of me."

Harry got over to the other side of the room, and wrapped himself tightly in his Void. _Maybe a different form. With a strong punch at the end._ He decided. Starting from the beginning of the form, he worked his way through.

_**Punch to the stomach.**_

_**Trip the person.**_

_**Turn and block high.**_

The movements starting flowing together, and Harry felt the wave beginning.

_**Block a low kick.**_

_**Side kick.**_

_**Block a punch to the side.**_

The wave was getting bigger.

_**Turn and block again.**_

_**Roundhouse at them.**_

_**Punch to the center when the kick stops.**_

The wave was getting much bigger; his Void was resonating with the feel of it.

_**Quick turn to block high.**_

Uzuki stopped, and turned towards Harry. The students who were better at sensing Chi did as well. Dudley sat up again, frowning. _This feels kinda like what happened right before we got in trouble…_

_**Turn the block into a grab, throw them away.**_

_**Turn towards the last person.**_

Now most of the class had stopped, and Uzuki motioned everyone to stay behind him, well away from Harry.

_**Side block the punch.**_

_**Block the kick it was turned into.**_

The wave was reaching its crescendo. Harry's mind seemed to hum inside the Void.

_**Block the punch, open them up for an attack.**_

The wave was at its highest point.

_**Open palm strike.**_

The wave broke. A surge of Chi flew through Harry. He could feel where it had started from in the Void, it felt like a huge hole into his Chi. With the amount of energy he was channeling, he was guaranteed to never forget. His aura fell completely into him, and then flared out at his hand.

The air seemed to ripple to the students' eyes, while to Uzuki… A strong amount of pure Chi rocketed out of Harry's open palm, straight at where he had moved to. Holding his own hand up, he blocked the Chi attack Harry had inadvertently created. His own Chi flared as he met and matched it, nullifying the attack.

Uzuki looked to Harry, just in time to see him smile vacantly. "I managed it, right?" Uzuki nodded. "Good." Harry dropped like a stone to the ground.

* * *

Don't you hate me for leaving it at a cliffhanger like that?

I'll see you all in the next chapter…

NOT.

* * *

Uzuki rushed to Harry as he hit the ground hard. He looked around. "Bring some mats. He's going to be out of it for awhile."

The students were just standing there, stunned. "NOW!" They started, and a couple students rushed to where the mats were kept and brought him a few.

Uzuki unfolded one and put Harry on it. He left one halfway folded to use as a pillow.

After Harry was settled, he stood up and faced the class. "_That_, ladies and gentlemen, is an example of what can happen when you release a large amount of Chi at one time. Not something I suggest trying, as you can see what happened to Harry." He ruefully shook his head. "Not to mention I don't think any of you would have the Chi necessary." He looked up to them at this. "And I don't know how he did either. And no one is to tell him exactly how much energy he has. And that is something you will follow. Or you will fight. Understood?" He looked at Dudley at this.

Everyone in the class nodded. Almost in synchronization, they all said, "Yes, Sensei!"

Uzuki nodded and accepted it. "Alright. Everyone get back to practicing."

Even Dudley got up and leaned against a wall with his eyes closed, trying to find his Chi in the Void. Everyone would occasionally turn and look at Harry, who was still lying on the mat, looking to be sleeping somewhat peacefully.

With a deep sigh, Uzuki looked around at the class. No one seemed able to keep their concentration long enough to find their Chi. Auras in the class flickered as Voids broke and then the student reformed them, but no flares that signified them finding their Chi.

Several students seemed to be doing forms, either the one Harry had done or variations on it. "I told you all. Following someone else's way of finding their Chi isn't going to work as well for any of you."

Dudley looked around. Everyone else was trying forms now, seeing as how his cousin had managed it with a form. But they were all trying different Tai Chi forms. _Just because Harry was doing a Tai Chi form. That's his favorite._ He thought back to how he had used the Void earlier, when he was mad at Sensei. _He said I used some of my Chi and that's why I'm so tired… Wonder if I did it again if I'd be able to do it?_

Noting where Sensei Uzuki was, Dudley moved to where he was in front of most of the rest of his classmates before trying.

_Harry's was a movement form. Maybe a powerful form for me?_ Dudley started working through his forms, using strong punches and kicks. He could feel a warm glow in the Void. _Maybe…_ He kept pushing through the moves, throwing out hard punches and kicks that were supposed to stop an opponent in a single shot.

The glow in the Void started shrinking and Dudley, thinking he was losing the Chi, started focusing even harder on each move.

He sank into his own mind, wasting no energy on extra movements. And yet the glow in his Void kept getting smaller.

Uzuki was helping another student who had just about found their own Chi when he felt Dudley's Chi changing. Frowning, he looked over at him. His aura was shrinking into him, and then flaring out at random times. _He's going to get it, but he wasted so much Chi earlier he's not going to have a huge outbreak like Harry did. Good. I didn't want everyone to know there are two kids in this class that could take them all on, based on Chi._

The glow kept getting smaller, no matter how much he tried. Dudley pushed again at it, trying to get it to come back. Every punch and kick seemed to make it smaller. _No! Sensei said I was using it wrong earlier and now I can't use it!_ He timed his next punch at the same time he pushed at the glow, which was now more like a pinpoint of gold light.

The light burst, and Dudley could feel the energy going with the punch. He immediately stopped, but the Chi didn't stop flowing.

Uzuki ran over to him. "Dudley!" He looked up at him blankly. "Dudley! You managed it! What's the matter?"

"It just keeps going and going and going." Dudley was starting to space out.

_Damn it! These two are going to be the death of me!_ "Dudley, put a bubble around it!"

"But if I do that, I can't use it." He replied vacantly.

"It's only a bubble! You can pop it whenever you want to get the Chi."

Dudley tilted his head sideways. "Oh, ok." He imagined a soap bubble with the energy inside. Immediately, the flow stopped. Dudley looked up at his Sensei. "I got it too, right?"

Uzuki laughed. "Yes, but don't you fall down on me too."

With a grin, Dudley replied, "Nah, I wanna watch the rest of the class. Is that ok?"

"Yes, go ahead." He turned to the rest of the class. "Alright, as you manage to find your Chi in your Void, you may stop if you think you'll be able to do it again. Just rest after that."

_Several hours later, at the end of class_

"Mr. Dursley, they're both extremely tired. I would suggest feeding them well and then sending them to bed. They'll be fine by tomorrow afternoon." Uzuki said when Vernon came to pick them up.

Harry and Dudley were both sitting in the car, with slightly vacant looks to their eyes. Dudley hadn't fallen asleep, but Harry had only woken up about thirty minutes before.

"What'd they do today that's made them so tired?" Vernon asked suspiciously.

"They learned to combine their life energy with their attacks today." Vernon scowled at the mention of the 'life energy'. "I'd like you to know, it was those two that pushed the lesson along so quickly. I don't think I've ever had students that young, that adept, at what I teach here."

Vernon seemed to puff up at this. "That's my Dudders." He proclaimed.

Uzuki seemed to notice Harry's missing name, but said nothing. "They've got what I'm going to teach the next class, so they don't have to come. Just tell them for me that they need to practice what they learned today."

Another scowl at this. "Not more of that spacing out garbage, is it?"

"No, they're to practice using their life energy, Chi, with their forms. They're not allowed to spar yet while practicing this. They can spar regularly though."

Vernon nodded, apparently satisfied. "Alright then." He got into the car and drove off, heading for home.

Uzuki stood outside, watching them leave. "Those two are really going to be the death of me." He shook his hand, still feeling the tingle of Harry's attack from earlier, and then walked back inside.

* * *

Thanks to all my readers. Leave me feedback!

And this is actually the end this time.

**Baka Shinobi**: Yes, I'm a Wheel of Time fan. It's an interesting meditation technique though.

**Tiny Tiny Hermit:** Yes, the Ministry can tell Harry is using Chi, but they're picking it up as accidental magic. Magic and Chi are both energy in the body, so right now, before Harry's magic is developed his Chi looks like magic to them.

As for the questions about Harry in Hogwarts versus Dudley in training, you'll just have to wait and find out.

Next time: More fun with the Dept. of Underage magic, a friend of Sensei Uzuki's, and maybe I'll even get to Harry's danged letter!

Beta by Dr. Gero. Fun to bounce ideas off this guy.


	8. Chapter 7

**Clay Pinions**

By Lochar 

Disclaimer: Not mine, not making a profit, yadda yadda yadda.

A/N: The more reviews I get, the more I tend to want to write. If no one is interested in my story, I won't post. And I never know how long a chapter will be until I'm done writing it.

Chapter 7

* * *

Vernon stood at the backyard door, watching Dudley and Harry spar. Neither one seemed able to really gain an upper hand, but they were both extremely calm. _That stupid 'Void' crap._ Vernon thought. _Although, it does seem to be helping Dudders._

"BOY!" He shouted at Harry.

Harry ducked Dudley's punch and then turned to Vernon. "Yes Uncle?"

Vernon walked over to the two of them. He noticed that Harry didn't seem to have been hit much, while Dudley had been. "Dudders, how come you've been hit more than you hit the boy?"

"Harry's quick enough to throw a punch at me through my defenses. It doesn't hit me hard though, I pull back so he can't do anything hurting." Dudley replied.

"And the reason he hasn't really been hit?" Vernon asked.

"Uncle Vernon, it's because a few really good hits from Dudley would probably knock me out. So I have to dodge his punches and kicks a lot, meaning any moves I try on him aren't very good." Harry volunteered for an answer.

"Oh really?" Vernon narrowed his eyes at Harry. "So why don't you show him how to dodge your hits and put his fists on you?"

Harry shook his head. "Me and Dudley don't fight the same way Uncle Vernon. His attacks are stronger moves and mine are supposed to be more hits to make up for them not being as strong."

"Humph." Vernon scowled. "Whatever." He stomped back towards the house. "You two may not be going to your class tonight, but do remember to practice. I'm not paying for you to not learn anything." He shouted as he closed the door.

Harry grinned at Dudley. "Good thing we didn't explain Chi, huh?"

"Yeah." Dudley laughed. " Dad really would go off on us about weird things again."

With a smile, Harry nodded. "Think we should do our forms now? Using our Chi?"

"Yeah, but no huge waves this time. Dad would have a cow if you passed out for a couple of hours like you did at _The Dojo_."

Nodding, Harry surrounded himself with his Void. To him, the flame automatically appeared right outside of it, seeming to wait for Harry to feed it any extra emotions. He could feel his Chi inside the Void as a well of energy waiting to be used.

Pushing a bit of that energy out of the well, Harry pushed it into the Void itself. Working through the form, nothing seemed to happen with the energy. After a moment the energy returned itself back into his well of Chi.

Harry turned to Dudley. While he was probably last in the class to be able to sense Chi and the amount used, he could still tell Dudley was able to channel it into the form he was going through. "Hey, Dudley. How're you actually using your Chi in your moves? I don't remember how I managed it in class."

"You've still got it in your Void, right?" Harry nodded. "Push it into your hands and feet when you do the attack or block. That's how I'm doing it."

"Oh, ok. Thanks." Concentrating on his Chi again, he drew some of it out and pushed it into his fists as he went through the punches of his form. He pushed more energy into his legs when he started moving into the kicks. Harry could feel the energy flowing through him now, and the moves started flowing together again. This time, he didn't let enough energy build up to make a huge crashing wave. When he was done with the form, he let go of the Chi he was holding and it returned into him.

Dudley whistled. "Cool."

"Huh? What's cool?" Harry asked.

"You didn't blow a lot of energy out that time. And it looked cool to see you doing it with Chi. You went from one move to another; it didn't stop or anything." _Better not tell him he was using a lot of Chi then too. Sensei Uzuki said not to say how much Chi he had. Even though he told Harry he had as much as the rest of the class put together._

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The next two months at _The Dojo_ was spent learning how to use their Chi correctly for their different attacks, blocks, and movements.

It was a process of learning that, to Harry and Dudley, was just about relearning all of their moves over again. This time, learning to put energy into them.

"OK class, gather around." Uzuki said.

Everyone got closer to him, and he held out a hand. "Alright, everyone pay attention. You can all sense Chi well enough to tell how much I'm going to use, right?" Confused nods. "Alright." A moment later, everyone could sense a small amount of Chi focused on their Sensei's hand. "This is about the amount you'll need to channel into a fist for most of your Tai Chi forms. The same goes into a foot, for the kicks. Everyone try to match me, please."

Harry nodded and concentrated on his Chi. Taking a small amount of energy from his own well, he compared it to the amount he could sense coming from Sensei Uzuki's hand. He frowned, and cut it in half. Then cut it in half again. _Finally. I pulled way too much energy at first I guess._ He focused and brought it into his own fist, and got a nod from Uzuki.

"Are you alright Harry? You were the last to be able to channel it."

Harry looked around, and noticed everyone else already had their Chi focused on their own hands, either closed fist or open palm. "Yes Sensei. I just had trouble getting the amount of Chi right."

Uzuki nodded again. _Probably had way too much to start with; I can't see him not starting with enough energy. _"Alright class, I want you to take this energy, and move it to the different parts of your body you use for each Tai Chi move. That means feet, shins, hands, and arms. Keep the energy at that amount please."

Everyone started moving their energy to different parts of their body. While most of the rest of the class was having difficulties, Harry easily moved it from hand to hand, to his foot, into his forearm, and then bounced it between each leg.

_Hmm… I wonder if I could do two at once?_ He pulled more energy, about equal to what he was already using, channeled it into his hand, and then channeled the original energy into his other hand.

Uzuki spun around. "No experimenting please, class."

Harry started, and then let the extra energy flow back into his well. He turned to Dudley, just in time to sense him letting go of two extra flows of Chi and the energy disappeared. "At least I'm not the only one getting in trouble." He grinned.

"Yeah, and we're not the only ones doing it this time." Dudley pointed to another student, who was just now getting his extra Chi back under control and releasing it as well. "I think we've got better control though."

"Yeah, but why just let your Chi go like that? Wouldn't it be better to save it and bring it out again later?"

Dudley gave Harry a strange look. "What do ya mean? My Chi comes out, but there's no putting it back in."

"Oh. I can pull what I need and then put it back. I guess that's one of the differences Sensei was talking about." Harry said.

"Wish I had it your way though, sounds a lot better."

"Yeah, but it's hard only pulling enough. Like earlier, I pulled out a lot more than I needed." He shuddered. "I don't want to end up fainting like I did before."

"Exactly. While you may have an interesting way to use your Chi, Harry, you must be careful on how much you use." Sensei Uzuki said from behind them.

Harry and Dudley jumped. "Sensei!" Harry breathed, "We didn't see you."

"It's alright. You both are still working at channeling your Chi to different parts of your body, correct?"

"Yes Sensei." They replied.

"Good enough then. Keep practicing." Uzuki looked at another student. "Hold on just a moment, don't do that!" He jogged over to the student and started explaining something to him.

Harry and Dudley just looked at each other and shrugged.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The weeks and months passed, with Harry and Dudley learning how to channel their Chi to several parts of their body at once. Each time, Sensei Uzuki stopped anything new from being taught and they had to go back over their old forms and learn to use more Chi with them.

Finally, it was a week before Dudley's eleventh birthday.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

_June 16th, The Dursley Residence. _

Vernon came home with a shopping bag from the local sporting goods center, along with what looked to Petunia to be a gun case.

"Vernon love, what exactly is that?" She pointed at the case.

"Insurance that Dudders isn't going to be turned into one of those freaks. It's a shotgun." He held up the bag. "And enough birdshot to depopulate Britain."

"And in a few weeks if a letter comes for Harry?" She asked him.

Vernon snorted. "They can have him. You know as well as I do that he's going to be one of them. And you've coddled him enough. Let them have him and do what they will with the boy."

Petunia just shook her head. _They'll take care of him well enough. That is, if he wants to go. He hasn't said one way or another all year since his birthday._

0o0o0o0o0o0

That evening at _The Dojo_, there was someone new.

"Students, I would like to introduce you all to a friend of mine from up north in Scotland. He's actually a teacher there, but at a regular school, not a dojo like this."

Everyone turned to Uzuki and his friend. "You can call his Professor Maison, and he teaches…" He turned to Maison. "I've forgotten. What do you teach?"

Professor Maison, who looked to be about ten years younger than Uzuki, smiled. "It's a class for studying alternate lifestyles. School is out for the summer, so I decided to catch up with my old teacher here. He's asked me to help out with this class. Granted, I don't have much Chi, but I learned how to use what I have very well. Maybe I can help you all learn a bit more control over your own Chi."

Dudley nudged Harry at this. "Maybe he can help you with your Chi, Harry. Even after everything Sensei has done you've still got problems with channeling too much" He whispered to Harry.

Sensei Uzuki stared at Dudley. "Anything you'd like to share with the class, Dudley?"

Dudley blushed at being called out, but nodded. "Yes actually, Sensei. I was telling Harry I hoped that Professor Maison could help Harry with his channeling his Chi."

Uzuki nodded. "That's one of the main reasons I asked him here." He turned to Maison. "You wouldn't mind helping him out, would you?"

Maison shook his head. "Nope, not at all. That's why you asked me here anyways, isn't it?"

Uzuki nodded and called the rest of the class to him, while Maison walked over to Harry and Dudley.

"Alright, I take it you're having problems with control?" Harry nodded. "Can you not channel enough energy correctly?"

Harry shook his head. "No sir, it's the opposite. I channel way too much."

Maison frowned. "Can I see?"

"Sure." In a move that by now had become second nature, Harry was in the Void and drawing a bit of his Chi energy from the well inside him. (A/N: Which means, if Harry starts drawing Chi, assume he's in the Void unless I say otherwise.)

Maison felt the surge of Chi enter Harry. "Whoa! Alright, I see the problem. Let it go Harry." The energy disappeared. "What'd you do with the Chi, Harry?"

He grinned at this. "Sensei says I'm _unique_. I put it back, instead of letting the energy go." Harry looked up at him.

Maison started at this and then took a good look at Harry's aura. "Could you do it again? Just channel a small amount of the energy please."

Nodding, Harry got into a stance and channeled what he had been told to into his fist.

"Interesting. Ok, let it go again." Harry did so. "I see." He crouched down to look at Harry. "Look at me Harry. This isn't a problem, we can work with this."

Harry looked at Maison, who stared back at him for a moment.

"Wow, those are some very green eyes you have, and is that…a…scar…" Maison paused, his eyes growing wide. "Harry, what's your last name?"

"Potter. Why?"

"Great Merlin's ghost." Maison whispered. "Harry Potter." It came out as almost a whispered prayer. He stumbled back.

"Merlin? What do you mean?" Harry asked, puzzled.

"That, Harry, is going to take some explaining." He looked over to see Uzuki working with a few other students. "Uzuki!" He shouted and was ignored.

"Uzuki!" He tried again. With the same response.

"CITAN!" He bellowed.

Uzuki looked up, and got a kick into his side for his trouble. The student starting apologizing, but he waved it off.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I need to borrow your office to talk to Harry."

Uzuki raised an eyebrow, but Maison just shook his head. "Go ahead then." He said.

Maison looked at Dudley. "Go and join the rest of the class; I need to talk to Harry alone."

Dudley nodded and rejoined the group, while Harry was ushered into the office. Maison closed the door behind him.

They sat down in the chairs, and Maison turned to Harry. "Alright, let me try to explain. I teach a class called Muggle Studies at a school for magic, called Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

Harry's eyes went wide, and he scooted his chair back a couple of inches and stared at the door out of the office.

"What's the matter Harry?" Maison asked.

"Magic killed my Mum and Dad. That's what my Aunt Petunia told me last year." Harry said, still looking between Maison and the door.

"I'm not going to hurt you, it wasn't me or anyone I work with that killed your parents Harry. It was a dark Wizard who did it." He explained.

Focusing on Maison at this, Harry asked, "Do you know who it was that killed my parents? Aunt Petunia only said they died because of a war, she didn't know who killed them."

He sighed. "Yes, but most people don't like saying his name. They called him, 'You-Know-Who'. His actual name is Lord Voldemort."

"If most people don't like to say his name, why can you say Voldemort?"

"Because I wasn't raised in the mindset of fearing his name. Granted, he was a very powerful and evil wizard, but he's only one person. He had people that followed him, who were called Death Eaters. They weren't as strong as he was, so unless Voldemort came after you personally, if you were skilled enough, you could escape from them. But of course, even Voldemort was defeated."

Harry, who had by now been drawn into the story, was puzzled. "How'd he get defeated? You just said he's really powerful."

Maison just smiled at him. "_You_ did it somehow. He went after your parents and killed them, then tried to kill you. Somehow it destroyed him instead."

Harry was stunned. "I killed him? How?"

"No one knows, but we were all happy." Maison said. "Now, what I actually wanted to talk to you about was Hogwarts."

At this, Harry became a little more guarded again.

"You'll be getting an acceptance letter sometime this summer, probably right before your birthday. If you accept to go, I would be honored to try to help you train at school, so that you don't fall behind in your lessons here with your Sensei."

Harry was thoughtful. "And you said that this Voldemort guy is gone, right?"

Maison nodded. "Yes, his body was found in the ruins of your parents' house."

"Will Sensei let you teach me though?"

"Well, he did ask me here to help you learn control at least. He probably wouldn't mind if I filled in the rest of the duties as well. I occasionally used to teach a few of the students back when I was his apprentice."

"If Sensei says it's ok, I guess so. I didn't want to have to go to a school and not keep up with Sensei's lessons. And Dudley probably won't be able to go, so he'd get ahead of me."

Maison chuckled. "Don't want to let him get ahead of you, huh?"

Harry shook his head. "Nope."

"Alright, where do you live? I'll come by the day after your birthday and take you to get your school supplies."

"Number 4, Privet Drive. In Little Whinging." Harry rattled it off, just like his Aunt Petunia had made him memorize.

"Alright, let's get back out there then. I still need to start teaching you to control that Chi, and we'll need to talk to your Sensei about teaching you."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Professor Maison received the go ahead to help Harry at his school, if he chose to go. So Harry decided that he would accept going to Hogwarts. Of course, that didn't go over as well with Dudley the next day, when Harry told him what was going on.

"What do ya mean, you're going to go to a different school and have a teacher all to yourself? Why can't I have one!" Dudley yelled.

"Because it's a school my parents signed me up for when I was born. If you get offered to go, he'll teach you too!" Harry yelled back.

Dudley scowled. "Fine!" He turned and ran into the house. "Da-ad! I wanna go to the school Harry's going to go to!"

Moments later, Vernon stormed out of the house, his face purpling and fire flashing in his eyes. "BOY! What sort of weird, freakish ideas are you feeding my son now? I swear, I'll beat you to within an inch of your life if this is your idea!"

Harry by this time had backed up, and was now against the tree. "N-no, no Uncle Vernon. I didn't tell him anything like that! I told Dudley about my school and he was mad that I was getting a martial arts teacher to myself and I said that if he was accepted to go he'd teach Dudley too." He said as quickly as he could.

Vernon scowled at Harry, then turned to Dudley. "Dudders, there is no way you're going to that school. No matter what. You'll not end up a freak like the boy's parents were." He turned back to Harry. "And don't you EVER go mentioning that to Dudley again, got it?"

Harry gulped, and nodded. "Y-yes sir, Uncle Vernon."

"Good. Now, go up to your room. You're not leaving it until tomorrow, and no supper. I don't care what your Aunt says."

Harry nodded and started inside.

"Oh, and boy?" Harry turned at Vernon's voice. "If you do get that ruddy acceptance letter, you're not to show me or Dudley. Take it directly to your Aunt." Harry nodded again.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

_July 27th_

The owl swooped down, and spotted the child it was suppose to deliver the letter to. He was up a tree in the backyard of a house. Letters starting forming under the name on the letter, and by the time it dropped the letter in his lap, the address was complete.

_Mr. H. Potter_

_Tree-in-the-backyard_

_Number 4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey_

Harry looked at the owl, which had perched on a branch near him. "I take it this is from the magic school Hogwarts?"

A hoot was his only answer.

"Alright. Can you wait here while I get my Aunt to write a letter back?"

Another hoot.

Harry smiled slightly, and climbed out of the tree and went inside. He wandered around the house for a few moments, before finding his aunt in the kitchen, making lunch.

"It came Aunt Petunia."

She turned around. "I see. And you're going?" she asked.

"Yes. I want to. If Uncle Vernon's going to be mad at me, he might as well have a reason this time."

Petunia smiled slightly. "It probably would be a first, wouldn't it? I've already written a return letter for you, with what you told me about your Professor Maison. How are you going to send it?"

"I asked the owl that gave me the letter to wait. It seemed to know what I meant, so I guess that way." Harry replied.

"Alright then, do you want to read it before you send it off?"

"Can I?" Harry asked.

_Headmaster Dumbledore;_

_I am Harry's Aunt Petunia. I am writing on behalf of Harry to accept going to Hogwarts. Please be advised that he will be getting his school supplies with your Muggle Studies Professor on August 1st._

_Harry will always have a home here in the summers between school terms, regardless of his uncle's feelings on this situation._

_Petunia Dursley_

Harry hugged his aunt in thanks, and ran back outside to the tree.

Handing the letter to the owl, -which grabbed it with its beak- Harry asked it, "Would you make sure this gets back to the school and whoever needs it?"

One last hoot and the owl took off.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

_August 1st_

The doorbell rang, and Vernon got up to answer the door. Petunia got up as well, saying, "I'll get it dear. It's probably someone from Harry's school here to pick him up to shop."

Vernon just grunted and fell back into his chair.

Petunia opened the door. "Hello, and who might you be?"

The man smiled at her. "I am Professor Lawrence Maison from…"

Petunia shushed him. "Don't say it. Harry's uncle is very touchy about this."

Maison nodded. "Regrettably understandable. Will you call Harry for me then, so we may go?"

Petunia smiled and turned back into the house. "Harry, your ride is here!" She shouted up the stairs.

"Can I come?" Dudley's voice came down along with Harry's, "Be right there."

Vernon jumped out of his chair at this. "NO you will not Dudley. I told you, nothing freaky or unnatural for you!"

_And being able to use the strong amount of Chi he and Harry have is normal? Or does he not know the extent of their Chi…_ Maison was left pondering.

Harry came down the stairs and ran up to the door. "I'm ready to go Professor Maison."

"Will he need any money for his supplies?" Petunia asked.

"He's not getting any money for his freakish stuff from us." Vernon growled out from where he was standing.

"No, it's alright. The Headmaster gave me a means to get his supplies that will not be a burden on you." Maison replied diplomatically. "Come along Harry, we've got to get to London."

Harry ran outside, following Maison to his car. They both got in and drove off.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

_Outside The Leaky Cauldron, Charing Cross Road_

"Do you see that place Harry?" Maison pointed.

"The Leaky Cauldron? Neat name."

"Yes, and our way into the magical world and Diagon Alley, where we will get your school supplies."

With a bit of effort, Maison managed to park his car a little ways away from the entrance. They got out and went into the Leaky Cauldron.

"Wow, this place is neat." Harry peered around him, taking in the look of the area and the people.

The bartender looked up. "Ah! Mornin' Professor Maison. Taking a Muggle-born into the Alley today?"

Maison smiled. "Something like that, Tom. Harry needs to get his school supplies."

Tom looked at Harry a little closer. "Harry? Harry Potter? Bless me, it is!"

The few people in the bar looked up. Calls of "Harry Potter?", "It's the Boy-Who-Lived!", and "Can I shake your hand Mr. Potter?" abounded.

Maison grimaced. "And that is why I chose the morning to do this, so there wouldn't be so many people in this blasted bar." He leaned over to Harry. "Smile at them, shake their hands if they want to. It's part of the thing about you managing to get rid of Voldemort." He whispered to him.

After a few minutes, Harry was done shaking hands with everyone. Maison cleared his throat. "Alright everyone, we need to get going."

They cleared a path to the back exit, and Maison led Harry out the back.

He pulled a long stick from a holder attached to his arm, and tapped several bricks. The bricks starting moving and formed an arch. "This, Harry, is Diagon Alley."

"Wow." Harry looked around as they walked, seeing all sorts of interesting things that tried to grab his attention respectively. Some, one would automatically assume were magical, and others looked normal until something about them suddenly changed.

After walking for a few minutes, Harry decided to ask, "Where are we going to first, Professor? This whole place is huge!"

"Gringotts Wizarding Bank. It's the bank where all the magical people keep their money. There's probably not a safer place in all of Wizarding Britain. Hogwarts might be safer, but that depends on what you're keeping."

Harry nodded. "And that's where the Headmaster set up something for me to get my supplies?"

Maison shook his head. "No, that's where your school vault is at, so that you may withdraw money for buying your supplies."

"I have a vault? With money in it?" Harry asked, surprised.

"Yes, but it's only to be used for school purposes." "Oh. Well, alright."

"Of course…" Maison said as they drew nearer to a large white building. "That also includes anything you buy during school, so we'll make sure to get some extra spending money." The Professor finished with a smile.

They entered the building, and Harry, noticing the plaque on the wall, asked, "Professor, what's guarding the treasure?"

Maison looked at the plaque. "Probably dragons, but no one that's tried to steal anything is still around to tell us."

They stepped through a second set of doors into the main chamber of the Wizarding Bank, and Harry got his first look at Goblins.

They were about half the size of a normal person, with long fingers, ears, and noses; some had stringy hair, some had the occasional beard, and they all seemed to have small, beady eyes. They seemed preoccupied with all the money, and looked to be generally unpleasant.

Harry and Maison heard some muttered cursing coming from one of the side rooms, and a very, _very_ large man came stumbling out, cursing under his breath about something that sounded like, "Infernal carts."

Maison smiled. "Harry, I'd like you to meet Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of the Grounds and Keys at Hogwarts."

Harry smiled. "Hello, I'm Harry Potter."

Hagrid looked down at him dumbstruck. "It's littl' Harry! Do yeh remember me? I took yeh out of yer parent's house when it happn'd. When they'r killed by You-Know-Who."

Harry shook his head. "No, I'm sorry. But did you know my parents?" Hagrid nodded. "Could you tell me about them?"

Maison shook his head. "I'm sorry Harry, but we are on a schedule."

Hagrid beamed at Harry. "Not ta worry. I kin tell yeh all about the at school, 'k?"

Harry nodded, and Hagrid moved to leave. Maison stopped him for a moment. "What are you doing here anyways Hagrid?"

"Sorry Professor Maison, Can't tell yeh that, Very secret Hogwarts business." He said apologetically, casting his eyes around and nodding his head not-so-subtly towards the other customers. "Dumbledore's trusted me. More'n my job's worth to tell yeh that."

Maison nodded. "Ah, alright. Do return to Dumbledore quickly then. Don't dawdle at the pub."

Hagrid nodded and left.

Maison turned to Harry and said, "The Headmaster wanted Hagrid to be the one to show you around the Alley, but I told him I had already promised you. Anyways, let's go get your money."

They walked up to a teller. "Mr. Potter here would like to make a withdrawal from his vault." Maison told the goblin.

The goblin peered down at Harry. "And does Mr. Potter have his key?"

Maison nodded. "I have it." He looked at Harry. "Dumbledore's been holding onto it for you until now. You'll have to keep track of it from now on, alright?"

Harry nodded, and Maison gave the key to the goblin to inspect. After looking at it for a long moment, the goblin nodded. "Griphook!"

Another goblin came up. "Yes sir?"

"Please take Mr. Potter and his companion to his school vault."

Griphook nodded. "Please follow me."

They took a mine cart down to the vault. Both enjoyed the speed and sharp turns. Once they reached the vault, the goblin leapt out. "Key please."

Harry handed over his key, and then commented to Maison. "You know Professor; I don't know what Hagrid hated about those so much. They were fun."

Maison agreed. "They were, but I think Hagrid's got a bit of a weak stomach when it comes to the carts."

The goblin opened the vault door, letting Harry see an enormous amount of gold, silver, and copper coins.

Maison raised an eyebrow. "That's a lot of Galleons, Harry." He got a money pouch from Griphook, giving him two of the silver coins from Harry's vault. "Go ahead and fill this up with a good bit of each."

Harry grinned and proceeded to fill his pouch.

Once he was finished, he looked to Maison. "Did I get enough?"

Maison looked to the goblin. "How much did he get into his pouch?"

Griphook put a finger onto the pouch. "A little over 300 Galleons."

Maison whistled. "That's a little over 1500 Pounds, Harry."

Harry's eyes goggled. "WOW!"

"But it's only for your schooling, understand?"

"Yes Professor."

"Alright, let's get back to the surface."

After a quick ride back up, Harry and Maison were ready to shop.

"First thing's first. You need a wand. We're going to Ollivander's for that." Maison said when the stepped outside of Gringotts.

"A wand?"

Maison pulled the long stick out of the holder again. "Yep. This is my wand. You'll get one yourself."

They walked along the Alley, Harry looking into each shop as they went by. An Owl Emporium, an ice-cream parlor, apothecary, and several other shops were stopped at and peered into by Harry before they made it to the wand maker.

_Ollivanders:_

_Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C._

"And here we are."

They walked into the shop; a musty smell seemed to permeate the shop. No sign of anyone else as far as they could tell.

"Ah, Mr. Maison. Back are we?" An older man seemed to appear out of nowhere, startling them. "And with Mr. Potter as well. I take it you are here to get your first wand, correct? I am Ollivander, purveyor of this shop."

Harry nodded a little nervously.

"Which is your wand arm, Mr. Potter?" Confused, Harry raised his right arm. "Ah, yes." He started measuring the different parts of Harry's arm. "Each wand that I create is different. They all have different woods, different cores, and each is best suited to a single wizard or witch." He let go of the tape measure, which continued to measure different parts of Harry's body.

"Mr. Maison for instance, has a fourteen and a half inch heavy oak wand with Dragon's Heartblood in it. Most suited for dueling, correct?"

Maison nodded. "Yes, and hasn't failed me once."

"Of course not. But anyways, each wand represents to a wizard their magical power. It takes and amplifies your magical energy." The tape measure stopped, after measuring the size of Harry's nostril. "Here, try this. Willow and Unicorn hair, six and a half inches." He placed the wand in Harry's hand.

And almost immediately had it taken out again. "No, no, no." But that one instance had been enough. It had felt dirty, so very dirty. Harry wrapped himself up in the Void, intent on keeping the feeling out.

Ollivander handed him another wand. "Try this. Ten inches, Rosewood with a Dragon's Heartstring."

Harry burned the dirty feeling in the flame, and felt something from the wand try to push into his Void. The sense was so wrong that he dropped it, almost as if he had been burned.

"No, not that one either. I know I have a wand in here somewhere for you."

Ollivander starting looking around, and walked into the back for a moment.

_I am _not_ letting that happen again. That was, I don't know what it was, but it wasn't RIGHT._ Harry thought to himself.

Ollivander came back with several more boxes. "Alright, let's try these. Mahogany, nine and a half inches, with Unicorn hair."

Harry burned the dirty feeling again, and directed the push into the Flame.

"Nothing there either? Alright…" Ollivander took the wand from him. They went through many more wands, Harry always pushing the feeling and probe from the wand into his Flame.

"Tricky, tricky Mr. Potter. But we'll find one for you yet." He rummaged through the already tried wands, and found another box. "I wonder…"

He handed it to Harry. "An eleven inch supple Holly wand, with a single Phoenix feather."

So used to pushing the dirty feeling into the Flame, Harry was surprised to not feel it. There was still the probe into his Void though, so he pushed it into his Flame as well.

Ollivander's eyebrow went up, but didn't say anything when Harry handed the wand back to him. "Alright, let's keep going." Maison laughed.

Forty-five minutes later, Ollivander was standing around a huge pile of tried and rejected wands. "Mr. Potter. I think you have gone through every one of my wands, and not a single one has made a connection to you. Do you know why?"

Harry just looked at him. "I don't know, but just about all of them felt dirty to the touch, and every one of the tried to probe into me."

Maison coughed. "Harry, that was the wand trying to make a connection with you."

Ollivander spun around and faced Maison. "You know what went wrong?"

"Yes. Harry's had meditation training, and probably felt the wands trying to make a connection to him. He probably rejected them consciously." Maison said.

Ollivander turned to look at Harry again. "Which one didn't feel dirty to you then? You said just about all of them."

Harry thought for a moment. "I can't remember, but I think it was one of the holly ones. You said it was supple, whatever that means."

"I know that wand…" Ollivander seemed to dive into the pile of rejected wands, digging through them all. He came out with a box. "Eleven inches, supple, with a single Phoenix feather. That sound right?"

Harry nodded.

"Alright, hold it again. When you feel the wand trying to connect, let it in."

Harry picked up the wand, and immediately felt the gentle push at his Void. He let it in and followed it in his mind. It seemed to go to a blank space of his Void, right near his Chi. _Is it trying to connect to my Chi?_ He guided the wand's energy into his well of Chi. It immediately seemed to connect to it, and he could feel it drawing energy from the well.

A veritable firestorm of red and green sparks came from the wand, and the end of the wand cracked and a single feather flew out.

"Well, that was the right wand for you, but apparently something went wrong. Do either of you know what it was this time?" Ollivander asked as he grabbed the feather out of the air.

Maison shrugged, but Harry answered. "It connected to my energy and drew a bunch out. I pushed it into the wand, and then all the sparks happened and it cracked."

_Manipulating his energy already, is he?_ Ollivander was thoughtful. "Ah, I see. On any new wands I create, I inscribe a minor Rune of Absorption, so that it can connect to your core and draw energy. You already knew how to use this energy, and pushed along with it. I think I'm going to have to recreate this wand for you. Give it here please. I'm going to have to start with a new piece of holly. This is one far too overcharged with your energy to work into a new wand with a focus."

"Can I have it back anyways?" Harry asked. "Maybe you could make it into something for me?"

Ollivander gave him an odd look. "And what would you like it made into?"

Harry thought for a moment. "A dagger hilt? Or a sword grip?"

"And would you be putting a weapon blade into this?"

"No sir. I wanted to give it to my cousin. He won't put a weapon blade into it either. He's not magical, but he likes weapons and things. And he'd like a souvenir."

Ollivander nodded. "Alright, stay here for a while. It's going to take me some time to fashion your new wand as well."

Maison and Harry nodded, and sat down at the front of the store while Ollivander walked into the back.

Thirty minutes later, Ollivander came back out.

"First thing. Here's the old wand, I went to reshape it into a sword hilt, and it seem to want to be this." Harry took the 8 inch long hilt from him. It was almost a perfect cylinder, except on one end, where it flared out and created two small points with an indention in it. Harry thanked Ollivander. "And here's your wand. Thirteen and a half inches, made from the heartwood of an extremely old holly tree. The same Phoenix feather core though. It's no longer supple, but good for just about anything. Instead of having a Rune of Absorption, I inscribed a Major Rune of Control into it. You'll have to channel your energy into it yourself, alright?"

Harry nodded and took it. He channeled a little bit of his Chi into it, and gold and silver sparks flew out.

"That core is very interesting though." Ollivander remarked.

"Why is that sir?" Harry asked.

"Because the phoenix that gave that feather only gave one other. And it went into the wand of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, who killed your parents, and gave you that scar."

Harry and Maison looked at each other. "That is interesting." Harry said.

Maison just shook his head. "How much for the two?" he asked.

Ollivander thought for a moment. "Normally, wands are seven Galleons each. For the handle, it'll be six Galleons, and the wand will be fifteen Galleons."

Harry paid and they left the shop.

The rest of the day went well, with the exception of later in the afternoon stopping in at Madam Malkin's, where Harry met another student beginning Hogwarts for the first time.

Unfortunately, the pale boy with the bright, almost white hair he met was very snobbish and rude, insulting Hagrid -who apparently did dawdle some- as he walked past, without even knowing what he was like. He found out the boy's name was Draco Malfoy, and thankfully his robes were finished quickly so that he didn't have to even say his name.

So by the end of the day, Harry was definitely tired. Professor Maison dropped him off back at home with all of his school things.

"I'll see you on September 1st, Harry. Be good until then. I'll have your birthday present from your Sensei and I at the school as well." Maison told him.

"Yes Professor." Harry yawned. "I think I'm gonna go to bed here as soon as I get this upstairs. Thank you for taking me today."

He pulled his trunk out of the backseat of Maison's car, wheeled it up to the house, and went inside.

* * *

MY GOD. FINALLY DONE!

Clocking in at over 6,000 words, do NOT expect another huge chapter like this. Unless the Muses demand it, of course.

**wackey:** Thanks for the review. It is the little things that can make such a big difference, isn't it?

**Tiny Tiny Hermit:** Harry was only ten when he pulled that off. While he does have a good bit of power, there's also the idea of skill to think of for Uzuki. He did throw Chi at Uzuki, so it goes to think that he may eventually learn to do it again.

**Ed-Win 4ever:** Yep, that's about it. Although, Dudley is no slouch in Chi strength either, Harry's is stronger than Dudley's.

**Fasor:** I think you reviewed the wrong chapter. I had Chapter 6 up when you reviewed Chapter 5 grin Thanks for the review anyways.

People, please note. I want at least 4 reviews for this one. I think I deserve it, right? This was a HUGE update.

As always, beta by Dr. Gero. He does a better Hagrid than me, especially when he has the books in front of him and I don't.


	9. Chapter 8

**Clay Pinions**

**By Lochar**

Disclaimer: Not mine, not making a profit, etc etc.

A/N: Thanks for the reviews! I love you peoples!

Chapter 8

* * *

_The next few weeks before I go to school are going to be really tense._ Harry thought to himself the next day.

Indeed, whenever he was around Uncle Vernon, Harry felt like he was walking on eggshells. Dudley wasn't much better, as he seemed aggravated that Harry was getting to go to a special school.

"Don't worry about his freakish school Dudders; we're starting you at Smeltings next year!" Vernon said at the breakfast table that morning.

Dudley perked up a little. "Do I get a special martial arts teacher as well at school?"

Vernon shrugged his shoulders. "I dunno, but I'll talk to your Sensei and see if he knows anyone else that we can hire to give you private lessons on top of your classes with him, if you want to."

"Ohh, that'd be fun." He looked to Harry. "And we'll both be getting good training too, so you won't be able to beat me but I'll be able to beat you!"

Vernon laughed at this, but Harry and Dudley just smiled at each other.

They finished breakfast, and Harry turned to Dudley. "Come on, let's go spar. I got something I want to try on you!"

Vernon turned red at that. "Boy, it had better not be anything freaky you got!" he shouted at them while they went out back.

Harry turned around and shook his head. "No, Uncle Vernon."

Vernon's eyes narrowed. "Better not be." He then turned back to his paper and continued reading it.

They got outside and Dudley started talking. "So, what didja want?"

Harry pulled the long hilt out of his shirt were he had hid it. "This! It's for you. And yes I did get it when I went shopping, so don't tell Uncle Vernon, ok?"

Dudley grabbed it. "What is it?"

"It was part of my wand, but I blew it up. The wand guy had to remake it, and I asked him to make a sword hilt for you. He gave it to me like that. I overcharged it with Chi I guess. I did promise that we wouldn't put any weapon blades in it though." He explained.

Dudley held the hilt in both hands. "So you could push your Chi into this? It feels warm."

Harry grinned. "Yeah, I don't know what you'd be able to do with it, but it doesn't have anything magical in it anymore, so it's not 'freaky'."

"Thanks. I'll figure out something to do with it. It looks neat anyways." Dudley dropped it near the tree. "Come on, let's spar. I still say I can kick your butt." He smirked at Harry.

"You're on. Chi yes or no?" Harry said, getting into his stance.

Dudley's eyes lit up. "Heck yeah! Just don't let me break any of your bones Harry." He quickly got into his stance, and charged at Harry.

Harry grinned. The quick attack was what he was expecting. Starting to block, he felt Dudley's Chi encompass his fist and move quicker than he'd expected right past his block.

The hit to his shoulder spun him around a bit, and Harry took a moment to get turned back around. Dudley was standing there, grinning. "What'd you do Dudley?"

"You use your Chi to make your hits stronger. I tried to make my fists move faster. Now we're even." Dudley laughed. "Come on."

So they began in earnest.

Harry channeled his Chi, and rushed back at Dudley. He threw a swing out at him, which Dudley blocked, going low past his side. He then had to block an open palm strike from Dudley, which was followed by a sweep kick that Harry jumped.

He kicked at Dudley's stomach forcing him back. He did manage to hit him slightly, and Dudley bent over, the breath knocked out of him.

Dudley stood back up quickly. Both boys grinned and started circling each other, looking for an opening.

_I wonder…_ Harry channeled a good bit of his Chi into his hand. _Now, I know I did this before, against Sensei._ Harry stopped and took a couple steps back. Dudley frowned, sensing the Chi pooling in Harry's hand.

Harry got into a basic stance. Throwing his arm out into an open palm facing Dudley, he pushed the Chi at him. Most of the energy he had channeled into his hand flew off and in Dudley's general direction.

"Holy-!" Dudley yelped and dove to the ground. He looked up to see Harry sitting on the ground, smiling.

"Heh. Figured it out. Not very fun though. I don't get to put that Chi back; I'm gonna have to wait to do it again. Tiring too."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

_Department of Underage Magic_

Madam Hopkirk was staring at the letter in her hand with amazement. She looked up to her colleagues. "I think we're going to have to forward this to the Auror division."

_August 3rd,_

_Multiple underage, wanded, unknown combat spells cast in vicinity of Little Whinging, Surrey. Be advised, last spell cast was extremely powerful, and unknown._

_Wand was registered by Ollivander, but wand refuses to identify owner._

She folded the paper up and tapped it with her wand. "Auror Division, 3rd Floor." The paper airplane took off and went out the door.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

A few minutes later, there were several pops around the Dursley's house.

"Aurors! Everyone, drop your wands and raise your hands!" the first one yelled. He then looked around. "Aww crap, just a couple of kids play fighting."

Harry and Dudley backed away from them.

"I guess we're going to have to Obliviate them. Come here you two." He motioned to Harry and Dudley.

Harry and Dudley both got into fighting stances. "I don't know what 'Obliviate' means, but you start anything, and we're ending it." Harry said.

Both boys starting channeling their Chi, and another person appeared next to the group. "Sir, the spells are being cast again, from right here!"

The lead man turned to look at the boys again. "You're the right age… Do either of you two know what a wizard is?"

Harry nodded, but didn't take his eyes off them. "I'm supposed to be one, why?"

The guy laughed. "Alright men, calm down. You can go; I'll talk to him. No statutes were broken, I was watching them when you showed up."

The others nodded and disappeared again, and the man turned back to them. "Alright, calm down boys. I'm not going to hurt you. My name is Auror Shacklebolt. What's your name?"

"He's Dudley, and if I tell you my name, will you not shake my hand?" Harry asked.

"Why would I want to do that?" Shacklebolt asked.

"I'm Harry Potter." Harry deadpanned.

"Oh… Wow. It's great to meet you Harry. Can I… No, you asked me not too. Wow, um. Really nice to meet you." Shacklebolt stuttered.

Harry sighed and turned to Dudley. "I hope that's not going to happen to everyone I meet at school."

Dudley laughed. "Well, hopefully not. Why's he doing that anyways?"

"Because of what happened when my Mum and Dad died."

Shacklebolt seemed to snap out of it. "Oh. Sorry. Anyways, the reason I'm here Harry, is because the Ministry of Magic detected a bunch of unknown combat spells being cast here by an underage wizard. Can you go get your wand for me?"

Harry shrugged. "I haven't used my wand since I got it a couple of days ago. What do you need it for?"

"It's part of my job. I have to check your wand for any of the spells that we think were cast from it."

"Alright. Let me go get it." Harry walked into the house, leaving Shacklebolt and Dudley outside.

"Aunt Petunia, can you get my wand for me? There's a guy outside that needs to check it for something. His name is Auror Shacklebolt." Harry asked once he got her away from his uncle.

"An Auror? What did he want to see it for?"

"Said he had to check it for spells." Harry told her.

Petunia nodded, and went to the closet. She pulled down the box that Harry had gotten it in. Vernon had immediately taken it away from him when he got home.

"I'll come out there with you." She told him.

They walked back outside to find Dudley and Shacklebolt talking. Dudley seemed to be telling him about their martial arts training.

Petunia coughed. Shacklebolt jumped and spun around with his wand out. "Jumpy, aren't we? Please don't point that at me."

Shacklebolt darkened with embarrassment, and put his wand away again. "I'm sorry."

Petunia handed him the wand box. "His Uncle took it away from him when he brought it home; He doesn't like magic it all."

"Really?" Shacklebolt raised an eyebrow. He opened the box and pulled out Harry's wand. "Nice wand. Very nice."

He pointed the tip of his wand at the tip of Harry's wand, and said, "_Prior Incantato_." Nothing happened. _"Prior Incantato!"_ He tried again, with the same results. Shacklebolt looked at Harry. "What is wrong with your wand?"

Harry shrugged. "Mr. Ollivander had to make it with Rune of Control instead of a Rune of Absorption. Maybe you need to actually push the spell into the wand? It won't absorb it." He suggested.

"Huh?"

"I guess not many people ever learn to use their energy by themselves." Harry said to himself. He then turned to his cousin. "Hey Dudley, maybe we should have them all sign up with Sensei?"

Dudley laughed. "I'd love to see them in there with us."

Shacklebolt grimaced. "Whatever." He closed his eyes and took a long, deep breath. "_Prior Incantato_." He said in a calm, monotone voice as he touched the tip of his wand to Harry's. Several very light, very blurry blobs came out of the wand, the first larger than the others. Then several ghostly sparks.

"Hmm, I take it this is when you got your wand?" He pointed at the sparks. "But these others aren't spells. It's like the ghost of an echo of something."

Harry shrugged. "I dunno. I haven't touched it since I got home a couple of days ago and Uncle Vernon put it in the closet."

"And there isn't enough of them here to account for all of the supposed combat spells being cast." The Auror said. "Alright, I'm going to suggest that we just watch the area for the next couple days." He shook his head. "This is going to be one weird report. Unidentifiable ghosts in an irregular wand, spells that weren't even cast, and Harry Potter." He smiled to them. "Have a good day boys, ma'am." With that, Shacklebolt disappeared.

Harry tried to give the wand back to his aunt, but she shook her head. "Keep it; and figure out exactly what made them come here like that. You're lucky Vernon was too busy watching the telly to notice anything was happening. You probably won't be as lucky next time."

Harry agreed, and held onto the wand when she went back inside.

He looked at Dudley. "You know what those things reminded me of Dudley?"

"They looked kinda familiar to me, but I couldn't tell you why. What'd they look like to you?"

"The Chi I was channeling. Especially that big one; it was probably when I tried to hit you with my Chi."

"Yeah, but what made it also go into there?" Dudley pointed to Harry's wand. "You weren't trying to channel through it, were you?"

Harry shook his head. "No. But maybe now that I know I can keep it from happening again.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

_Ministry of Magic_

Shacklebolt walked into the Department of Underage Magic and found Madam Hopkirk. "That last warning? File it under Harry Potter, but no offense." A surprised gasp met this. "Yeah, that's the kid in Little Whinging. It was damned hard to work with the kid's wand too, but with some effort I managed to get _Incantato_ working; it came up with the sparks from Ollivanders, and then some weird nonsense things that were nothing like spells."

"So, nothing's going to be said then? What about the combat spells?" Hopkirk asked him.

"There wasn't even enough of those weird things to be every combat spell cast. Since it was Harry Potter though, I've assigned one of the Aurors under my command to watch the area."

"Alright, I'll register that wand signature under Harry Potter then, so we at least have a name to the wand." She said.

Shacklebolt nodded.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0oo0

"You know Harry, you could really mess with them." Dudley said.

"Oh?"

"Yeah! If they didn't like the Chi just making… what was his word? Ghost images! Think what'd they do if you actually channeled your Chi through it?" Dudley smirked at the thought.

Harry was thoughtful. "Yeah, but exactly what would I do with the Chi once I channeled it into my wand?"

"You could always see if there's something in one of those books you had to buy."

"Uncle Vernon took those too, remember? And I doubt I could talk Aunt Petunia into getting me one of those."

"Oh well, it would have been fun. Wanna spar some more?"

Harry shook his head. "No, I want to see if I can figure out why my Chi was going into my wand." Harry sat down with his back against the tree.

Slipping into the Void was easy by now, and Harry mentally imagined his well of Chi.

_Looks a little deeper than it did. Guess as I use it, it gets bigger._ He turned it around in his mind, looking at it from all directions. _I don't see anything wrong with it._ He pulled a little bit out and got ready to channel it, when he noticed a very tiny gold wire seem to appear leading out of his Chi to nowhere. He released the energy he was holding, and the wire faded away.

_What is that?_ He got ready to channel his Chi again, and the wire reappeared. He channeled the energy into his fist, and watched as a pulse went along the wire. For a moment, he thought he saw his wand. _Okay… Is that my connection to my wand? So every time I use my Chi, it follows the connection and is that what made those guys come?_

Harry brought a little energy up to make the wire reappear. Grabbing and pulling the connection out of his Chi, Harry mentally checked the rest of the Void. _It's not called the Void for no reason. There's nowhere else to connect it to._ Sighing to himself, he let it reconnect to his Chi.

He opened his eyes. "Oh well, if I can't do anything about it, I might as well enjoy it." He looked to Dudley. "So, you want to play with the punching bag, Dudley?"

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

_Dept of Underage Magic_

Another paper appeared on Madam Hopkirk's desk, where both she and Shacklebolt saw it.

"Hold on a second, let me see what this one is." She unrolled the parchment and gasped. "Shacklebolt, you might want to see this. It's Harry again."

_August 3rd,_

_Multiple offenses and oddities in regards to Harry Potter's wand. Listed in order:_

_1. Spell similar to Enervate cast._

_2. Connection with wand broken, wand assumed broken._

_3. Wand connection re-forged, exactly as before._

_4. Unknown combat enhancement spell cast._

_5. Attack magic used. Multiple times, as of this note, counter is still rising._

Shacklebolt sighed. "I'll go check it out. It's going to be a circus, I can tell."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Shacklebolt appeared in the backyard of a neighbor, and whispered. "Dawlish, report."

A head appeared in midair. "I'm here sir." He replied.

"What's Potter been up to?"

"After you left, he tried to give his wand back to his aunt. I wasn't close enough to hear what she said, but she wouldn't take it back. Then Harry went and sat down against that tree and seemed to fall asleep or something. His Muggle cousin stayed pretty close to him and seemed to have some damned good hearing or something, as he kept looking around. I think he looked right at me once or twice. But after about ten minutes, Harry seemed to wake back up. Said something about not being able to do anything about it, so he was going to enjoy it. Then they went and starting punching a big bag they've got hanging up near the house."

Shacklebolt nodded. "Anything odd happen with Harry? Hopkirk got some more strange messages about his wand."

Dawlish shook his head. "No sir, not with the wand. Once he woke up, he just put it down and they went to that bag."

He hesitated. "Although, I did do a scanning spell on that bag. I'm not quite sure how they're hitting it as hard as they are."

"What do you mean?"

"That bag weighs about 100 pounds, and they were hitting it back and forth like a Muggle beach ball!" The bodiless Auror harshly whispered.

"A combat enhancement spell wouldn't keep them from breaking a wrist doing something like that. I saw that bag." Shacklebolt muttered to himself. "But maybe the attack magic… but that would mean the other boy isn't a Muggle. And he has no magical potential. We checked them both."

"Sir?" Dawlish asked.

"Never mind. Come on, we're not going to get any real answers here. Harry doesn't know anything about his wand, and the Muggle boy wouldn't either."

They both disappeared.

A few minutes later, Harry and Dudley stopped punching on the bag.

"Oh man, that's hard work." Dudley said. "Punching it with Chi back and forth was fun, but I don't think I could use mine for anything right now."

Harry laughed. "Neither could I. But if they were seeing the Chi on my wand, think of what it did now!"

Both boys had a very good laugh over that.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Both Aurors appeared at the designated point in the Ministry. After dismissing Dawlish, Shacklebolt wandered towards Hopkirk's office.

_Two boys. How could two boys cause that much trouble in the Underage Magic Department? And one was a Muggle, for Merlin's sake!_

He stepped into the office, and looked around. Everyone was crowded around Hopkirk's desk, watching a piece of paper. "Potter's wand, I take it?"

The crowd jumped. Hopkirk turned around. "Yes. The count finished just a moment ago. 26 counts of combat enhancement, and 826 counts of attack magic. What in Merlin's name was going on?"

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing."

"Preposterous! There can't be that many mishaps on the reader." She stated.

Shacklebolt shook his head. "Dawlish was watching them. Harry probably meditated with his wand for a moment, then they went to punching a punching bag. Granted, that was odd, but there was not one single spell cast. I checked myself while they were punching on that bag. Maybe the reader can't read Potter's wand correctly?"

"Maybe. I'm just going to set anything from his wand to automatically be filed under his name, no offense. Maybe after the school year his wand will calm down. I'll make a note to check after the end of his first year."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

_September 1st, King's Cross Station_

Harry pulled his trunk out of the back of his uncle's car.

"Alright boy, good luck finding your train. 'Nine and three-quarters'. Hah!" Vernon said. With that, he put the car in drive and pulled off.

"Great. Left alone in a huge train station. And I know I'm gonna get strange looks if I ask about a magic platform." He laughed to himself. "Might as well start looking."

Harry wandered around, directed to Platforms nine, and then ten. Confused because he could find nothing about a nine and three-quarters, and too afraid of looking crazy about asking for it, Harry sat down on a bench.

Moments later, he could hear softly behind him, "This place is always full of Muggles, so hard to get to the train station without being seen."

Turning around, Harry saw a group of redheads, all moving towards Platform Ten. "You all remember how to get onto the Platform right?" The rest of them nodded at the woman's question.

Harry walked up to them, wheeling his trunk. "Umm, excuse me?" Causing the redheaded woman turned around.

She looked him up and down for a moment. "First time getting onto the Express dear?"

Harry nodded.

"It's not that hard, all you have to do is," she turned to face the brick wall. "Oh dear." A long line had formed, going past the wall. "Well, if there weren't any Muggles, all you'd have to do is walk right through that wall. I guess we'll have to wait a few minutes for the line to go down."

She sat down on the bench, pulling her daughter down to sit next to her. The rest of the boys stood around, waiting. Harry sat down next to them.

"I'm Molly Weasley, and this group is mine." She pointed to a boy who seemed quite preoccupied, and was staring at the group of people blocking the wall. "That's Percy, my oldest still going to school." She pointed to the twins, who were talking quietly, and looking at the younger boy. "Those are my twins, Fred and George." At their name, they turned and bowed deeply, falling over themselves and picking each other back up. "Couple of troublemakers. Don't you two bring attention to yourselves while we're here, understand?"

"Yes Mother." They both intoned at exactly the same time, in the same voice.

"Anyways, that's Ronald." She pointed to the youngest boy. "It's his first year too."

Said boy turned. "I'm Ron, nice to meet you."

Harry nodded. _Too many names. _

"And this is my youngest; she starts Hogwarts next year. First born female Weasley in generations."

She blushed at this, and Harry smiled. "Lemme guess, you're-" a pendant seemed to flash through his mind. Harry shook his head and continued. "-Elly, right?"

She shook her head. "Nope, I'm Ginny. Don't believe her when she says my name's Ginevra."

Mrs. Weasley smiled, but looked strangely at Harry. "Ginevra is her name, but we were actually considering Eloise after my great Aunt. She went by Elly."

Harry laughed slightly, but before he could introduce himself, the crowd had cleared.

"Oh! Come on boys, before the crowds come again. Percy, you first."

Percy nodded, and pushed his trolley with a no-nonsense attitude at the wall. Which looked awfully funny when he disappeared into it.

"Fred, you're next."

"Honestly woman, you call yourself our Mother? I'm George." He said.

"Sorry George, just hurry." Mrs. Weasley waved him towards the wall.

"Just kidding Mum!" Fred said as he pushed his trolley at the wall. George right behind him, winking at her.

Ron followed quickly.

"That's how you do it. Now hurry up; you don't want to miss the train."

Harry nodded, and then had an idea. He smiled at Ginny. "Since you told me your name, I'll tell you mine. Harry Potter. Too bad I won't be seeing you this year. Next year though!"

He grinned at the shocked look on her face as she nodded dumbly, then ran towards the wall and went through.

Right before he went through, he heard her. "Mum! That was Harry Potter!"

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The train was on its way to Hogwarts, and Harry was sitting alone for the moment. The youngest redhead boy of the group, _Ron_ he thought, came in.

"Mind if I sit here?" he asked.

"Go ahead. I was getting a little lonely here." Harry replied.

Ron sat down, and then looked slightly uncomfortable. "Um, my sister Ginny caught me before I got on the train. She told me something really strange."

Harry grinned widely. "Hmm? What'd she tell you?"

Ron fidgeted in his seat. "Oh, nothing. It was something really dumb."

_Hmm. Oh well, might as well do this a different way._ "I didn't get a chance to introduce myself. I'm Harry."

Ron's eyes widened. "Harry Potter?"

Harry nodded, and then lifted his bangs to show his scar. "Yep, that's me."

"Oh wow! Um… wow!" Ron seemed to be tongue-tied, and couldn't stop staring.

"Oh please don't do that. I want to be normal. I've already gotten it enough from some of the shopkeepers in Diagon Alley."

Ron nodded and shook himself. "Okay, umm… Hey, what's your favorite Quidditch team?"

"Quidditch? What's that?" Harry asked.

"You mean you don't know what Quidditch is?" Ron was dumbstruck. "What'd you do, grow up Muggle or something?"

Harry nodded. "Actually, yes."

"Well, we're going to have to fix that! The Chudley Cannons are the best Quidditch team, they're just in a slump right now, but anyways…"

Ron and Harry spent the remainder of the train ride discussing Quidditch, Hogwarts, and other things, including Harry's Muggle home. They were only interrupted a few times.

0o0o0o0o0

The first time was when the snack trolley came by.

"Anything off the trolley dearies?" The kind, older lady pushing it asked.

Ron shook his head. "No, my Mum packed me some food." He pulled out a sandwich.

Harry looked at the trolley. "Any Butterfingers on there?"

The snack lady shook her head. "No Muggle sweets here, only Wizarding ones."

Harry turned to Ron. "Which ones should I get?"

Ron looked at the cart. "Umm, well I like everything there…"

Harry laughed. "We'll take two of everything then."

The snack lady smiled. "Alright, that will be sixteen Sickles and twenty-three Knuts."

Harry pulled a Galleon out of his bag. "Is one of these enough? I have more if you need them."

Ron's eyes boggled.

"Yes it is dearie. Let me just give you your change." She counted out his change, and then gave them their snacks and moved on.

Harry turned to Ron. "Well, let's eat. I'm hungry, I didn't get breakfast this morning."

Ron nodded, and both dug into the treats.

0o0o0o0o0o0

The second time, a bushy haired girl stuck her head into their compartment.

"Has either of you seen a toad? There's a boy in another compartment looking for his, he lost it."

"Nope, we haven't seen hide nor scale of a toad." Ron said. Harry laughed.

"Oh, okay. Well, this is the last compartment in the train car. Mind if I sit down?" she asked them.

"Go ahead." Harry waved to the seat across from them.

She sat down. "I'm Hermione Granger."

"Ron Weasley."

"Harry Potter." Harry said, smiling and waiting for her to realize.

It didn't take but a moment. "_The_ Harry Potter? I've read about you in _Modern Magical History_, and _The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts_, and _Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century_!"

"Great, I'm even in books." Harry moaned.

Ron laughed. "Don't worry, it'll only be worse once we get to school."

Hermione glared at him. "That's no way to cheer him up." She turned to Harry. "I'm sorry."

Harry nodded.

0o0o0o0o0

The third interruption wasn't as nice as the first two.

"So, I hear Harry Potter is on the train." A boy with platinum blond hair stepped into their compartment.

"Yes." Harry said.

"I'm here to make sure you know who's who in Hogwarts. You don't want to be caught associating with the wrong type of people." He looked at Ron and Hermione. "Weasels and Mudbloods for instance." Ron's face went extremely red, and Hermione looked slightly upset, but also questioning.

"I'm Draco Malfoy." He stuck his hand out.

Harry looked at his hand. "Obviously, you're the wrong type of people, if you act like that." He smiled slightly. "You were very rude in Diagon Alley. Insulting people left and right."

Draco pulled his hand back, as if it had been struck. "Fine then Potter. Be that way." He turned around and stormed out of the compartment.

Hermione turned to them. "He wasn't very nice at all. But what's a Mudblood?"

Ron grimaced. "He was talking about you. You're Muggle-born, right?"

Hermione nodded.

"It's a bad word for being Muggle-born. It means you have dirty blood."

Hermione gasped. Ron nodded. "Yeah, not a good word to be called."

The rest of the ride was filled with one-sided conversation, with Hermione talking about everything she had read in a book called, _Hogwarts, A History_.

* * *

HA! DONE! And not as long as my previous chapter. But you guys wouldn't have minded that, would you? 4500 words isn't bad though.

**wackey: **The hilt draws it's inspiration from a television show. 5 house points for whoever guesses it correctly.

**Samantha:** No wheel of Time here, although I am a fan. The dirty feeling was just the wand not being right for that particular wizard.

**TalonStrike**: Evil man. Are you trying to slow down my writing? It's going on my birthday list so I can still write.

**Tiny Tiny Hermit:** Eh, Dudley was never going to get a letter. Vernon was just paranoid.

**Akusai: **same deal for you I gave to wackey. Can you figure out where my inspiration came from for the hilt? It'll eventually play a part.

To the other people that read and reviewed both here and other places, thank you!


	10. Chapter 9

**Clay Pinions**

**By Lochar**

Disclaimer: Alas, Potter, I do not own thee.

A/N: My hands! They're possessed! And thank you for all the reviews on Ch. 8.

Chapter 9

* * *

"Firs' Years! Firs' Years over here!"

Harry looked up, and saw the big man, Hagrid, yelling for them. "Come on, let's go see what he wants." He motioned for Ron to follow him off of the train. The other girl, Hermione had disappeared somewhere in the crowd.

"Come on. No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid pointed to the little boats sitting in the water.

Harry climbed into the closest boat with two seats open, Ron right behind him. There were already two boys sitting in it.

"I'm Seamus." One of them introduced himself.

"Neville Longbottom." The second one said.

"I'm Ron, and this is my mate Harry." Ron introduced the two of them.

"Nice to meet you both. I wonder…" The boats started moving. "Guess I don't have to ask how long until the boats start moving."

Harry leaned over the side of the boat and looked down into the water. "Hey look, there's a monster in the water!"

The other three all looked over the edge and saw a giant squid. "Wow! Hope he's friendly."

From a nearby boat, Hagrid laughed. "E's friendly. You fall outta yer boat an' he'll put ya back in it."

The boys keep looking around, and noticed the area started to open up. The boats floated around a bend, and everyone got their first look at the Hogwarts castle.

It was immense. Sitting on a cliff, it had high towers, a drawbridge, ivy climbing up the walls; it seemed picturesque. Of course, after getting a good look, most of the students were now more focused on how far the boats had to go until they made it to the school shores.

After a few minutes, the boats went through a curtain of ivy into the base of the cliff and landed at a small harbor, with the children piling out of the boats.

"Alrigh' firs' years, up the stairs an' wait at the big doors. Someone will come out and show yeh in shortly." Hagrid told them.

They all climbed up the stairs, and stood in front of the large doors waiting to be let in.

"So Potter, what House do you think you will end up in?" Malfoy smirked. "The lowly Hufflepuffs, moronic Gryffindors, bookworm Ravenclaws, or the mighty Slytherins?"

Harry sighed and reluctantly looked at Draco. "Any house without you is the right one for me." He then turned back to talking quietly with Ron.

Malfoy stood there for a moment, unable to speak. Just as he was about to reply, the door swung open.

They were greeted by an older lady with a stern face, small square glasses, and dark hair made into a tight bun. "I am Professor McGonagall, your Transfiguration professor and Deputy Headmistress. I am about to bring you inside, where you will be sorted into your House for the duration of your stay at Hogwarts. Your House will be like your family. There are four Houses, and they are…" Harry was only half listening to the rest of her speech, as Ron had told him about the different houses and points system on the train, which Ron had learned from his brothers and parents.

Once Professor McGonagall was finished, she led them inside to the entrance hall, and told them to wait a moment in front of another set of great doors.

The entrance hall was grand. It was wide, and its ceiling was high enough that Harry was pretty sure that the entire Dursley house could fit inside. There were doors leading off to passageways on every side, but the what caught Harry's attention the most, were the huge doors they were in front of, the giant staircase, and the odd hourglasses next to one of the walls.

Hundreds of voices could be heard on the other side of the doors, but two voices suddenly got clearer.

"We should give him a second chance. He might change his ways." The first voice said.

"We've given him hundreds of second chances! He's never going to change his ways." The second said.

Just then, two bodies floated up through the floor -causing gasps from most of the students-, continuing the conversation the first years had heard.

"And furthermore, he's not even a real ghost-" "Oh! Hello there!" The second exclaimed when he caught sight of them. "First Years about to be sorted?" The students were busy staring at them, but a couple managed to nod. "Good luck those of you who end up in Hufflepuff. My old house, you know!"

The two ghosts floated off, still arguing about someone who may or may not be a ghost.

"Children."

Everyone turned around in a flash. Professor McGonagall returned.

"You will now be brought in to be sorted. Single file please, and don't cause a commotion."

Everyone lined up, and walked into the Great Hall. There were five tables in the very large room, four were obviously the house tables as there were students sitting around them and banners above; the fifth ran opposite the others, and there were adults sitting at it facing the students. Harry looked up to avoid the eyes of everyone looking his way, when he noticed there were candles floating everywhere, and the ceiling looked like it did outside.

"It's charmed to be that way, reflecting the weather outside. It was in _Hogwarts, A History_."

Harry jumped; he hadn't realized that Hermione had walked up behind him. "Don't DO that!" He whispered fiercely. "You scared me."

"Sorry." She whispered back.

Professor McGonagall led them to the front of the head table, facing the students. She motioned for them to stop, and she quickly made her way through a door near the corner, and brought out a stool and a large, very old looking hat. The older students at the table seemed to lean forward a bit, and then a rip near the brim of the hat opened wide and began to sing.

(A/N: If I have to type out the first year song, I'm going to beat someone bloody. Also, I'm only going to show the sorting of the main people.)

When the applause died down, Professor McGonagall stood near the stool and retrieved a scroll from her robes.

"When I call your name, come up here and place the Sorting Hat on your head. It will determine which House best suits you."

Harry listened as she went through several people's names until she got to one he recognized.

"Granger, Hermione."

She nearly ran up to the stool and sat down. The rip in the hat opened up, and then shut again. It did this several times for two or three minutes, until it finally shouted out, "GRYFFINDOR!"

Everyone was clapping and Hermione smiled brightly as she went and sat down at the Gryffindor table.

Another few names, and then Professor McGonagall came to,

"Malfoy, Draco"

The hat had no trouble this time. Almost before it was on Malfoy's head it shouted out, "SLYTHERIN!"

A few names later, Harry heard his own name.

"Potter, Harry."

The whole room became silent. Harry could hear the whispers starting up as he walked to the hat. "Boy-Who-Lived", "Harry Potter", "Wow! It's him!" Nervous, Harry turned to the Void to calm himself down.

Sitting in the chair, McGonagall set the hat on his head.

'_Hmm, very interesting Mr. Potter.'_

_**Huh?**_

'_Please, either bring that flame into this darkness, or dispel it. I cannot place you into a house if I cannot see into your mind to see what qualities you have.'_

**_Oh, sorry. I was nervous._** Harry let go of the Void and could now sense the hat a little better.

'_Not a problem. You are one of the first ones able to do that to me though. Anyways, let us get on to your Sorting. Hmm… a fierce desire to prove yourself, especially to that uncle of yours. Loyalty to your few friends and your cousin. Courageous to a fault; he would have loved that. A want to learn, but you want to learn for use, not for the knowledge itself._

'_So that makes you best for Slytherin or Gryffindor.'_

_**Not Slytherin.**_

'_Are you sure? They could help you on your way to greatness; it's all here in your head.'_

_**Not Slytherin, not Slytherin, not Slytherin.**_

'_Alright, if you're so against it, it'd better be…' _"GRYFFINDOR!"

People at the Gryffindor table started jumping around and there were shouts of, "We got Potter!" and other things as Harry took his place among them. He made sure there was enough space next to him for Ron, who he was sure would be joining him.

More names were called, and new students sorted before Harry heard Professor McGonagall call out,

"Weasley, Ronald."

Another bare moment under the hat, but this time "GRYFFINDOR!" was the call.

Ron smiled and got off the stool, some color finally returning to his face. He stumbled towards the Gryffindor table, and sunk down in the seat next to Harry. "At least we didn't have to wrestle Trolls."

Harry quickly turned from watching the last student, a 'Zabini' being sorted, and looked at Ron. "What?"

Ron shook his head. "That's what those two jokers were telling me." He pointed to his twin brothers. They both smiled back innocently.

Before Harry could say anything, they heard a cough come from the head table where the teachers were at. Dumbledore had stood up. "Now, before we eat, I have just a few words to say: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!"

Everyone laughed and clapped.

"He's nuts, isn't he?" Harry asked out loud.

Percy turned to him. "A bit, but he's still the best wizard in the world." Percy pointed to the table. "Potatoes?"

Harry looked at the table and was shocked. All the plates were now filled with food. He quickly put together a plate of the best looking things and started eating.

Looking to the head table, he noticed a pale and nervous-looking man, wearing, bizarrely enough, a purple turban, talking to another man with a hooked nose, greasy black hair, and sallow skin. The dark-haired man glared at him.

"Ah!" Harry put his hand on his forehead, where it was pounding in pain.

"What's the matter?" Ron asked.

"Nothing." He looked at Percy. "Who are those two men talking? The one wearing the turban and the one with the dark hair?"

Percy looked up. "Oh, that's Professor Quirrell with the… turban, and the other is Professor Snape. Snape is the Potions Master, but everyone knows that he wants Quirrell's job, Defense Against the Dark Arts. It's no wonder Professor Quirrell looks nervous."

After getting to know more about each other and getting themselves pleasantly full in the process, the plates cleared themselves. And then all the students made themselves unpleasantly sick off of dessert.

When the plates cleared themselves for a second time, Dumbledore stood up again.

"Now that your stomachs are full and your heads empty, I think I'll fill them up with a few start-of-term announcements."

Laughs came from a number of students at this.

"First off, for the first years. There are several places off-limits. The Forbidden forest on the edge of the grounds for instance, is just that: forbidden. It would be wise for a few of our older students to take note of this." His eyes twinkled as he looked at the Weasley twins.

"Also of note, Mr. Filch, our caretaker, wants me to remind you all that there is to be no magic in the corridors between classes. Students wishing to join their House Quidditch teams should see Madam Hooch. Trials will be held in the second week."

Years third and above should make sure they have their permission slips for Hogsmeade weekends handy, but if you do not, we have many fine owls in the school Owlery that would be happy to pester your parents for you." The older students laughed in response while the younger students looked a little confused.

Dumbledore's smile slipped a little as looked around. "And finally, please take note. The third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to anyone who does not wish to die a very painful, gruesome death."

A few students laughed, but most looked thoughtful.

"He is joking, right?" Harry asked.

"Most likely not." Percy said. "But it is odd… Normally he gives a reason why. Like how the forest is full of dangerous monsters. I'm surprised he didn't at least tell us prefects."

Dumbledore dismissed them to their dorms then, and Percy led them up flights and flights of stairs. Halfway up, they managed to run into the object of the ghosts' previous discussion.

"Ohhhh! Ickle Firsties! What fun!" He started chucking the walking sticks he was carrying at them.

"Peeves! Quit right now or I'll let the Baron know what you're doing!" Percy shouted at him.

"Ohh, so scary!" Peeves stuck his tongue out at Percy. "Not! Wonder if I can find anymore Firsties to play with?" Peeves zoomed down the stairs, apparently looking for more first years.

"Peeves, the poltergeist. The only one who has any control over him is the Bloody Baron. He won't even listen to the prefects." Percy told them.

Percy led them up a few more flights of stairs, to a large portrait of a very fat woman in a pink dress.

"Password?" The painting asked.

"Caput Draconis." Percy told her. She nodded, and her painting swung forward, revealing the Gryffindor common room.

"Boys are up the left staircase, girls are up the right. First floor up, you're trunks will be at your beds." Percy waved them towards the stairs.

Harry and Ron walked up to their dorm and found their trunks. Harry had just enough time to change into his sleeping clothes before falling asleep, not even waiting long enough to talk to Ron.

Harry's dreams that night were filled with nonsense. Professor Quirrell's turban was on his head, telling him to go back to the hat and allow it to put him in Slytherin. Every time Harry said no, the turban got tighter and heavier on his head. Harry even tried using his Chi against it, but it didn't affect the turban.

Malfoy was there as well, laughing at him for choosing the wrong house. He then morphed into Professor Snape, who laughed at him as well, in a high-pitched, cold laughter. Then there was a green flash of light.

Harry awoke, sweating and shaking. When he calmed down, he rolled back over, forgetting the dream and falling back asleep.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The next few days were extremely hectic. You had to memorize the quickest way between classes, which steps might make you fall through them, doors that changed their locations every Tuesday, and walls that pretended to be doors.

And then for Harry, there were the constant whispers that seemed to follow him anytime he went past a group of people. "You see him?" "It's Harry Potter." "Did you see him?" "Did you see his scar?"

_It's going to get annoying very fast if I can't talk to anyone because they're too busy staring at me and this stupid scar to actually talk._

Harry quickly learned that the sneering Professor Snape didn't just dislike him; he seemed to actively loathe him.

The first class Harry had for Potions turned out to be a double lesson with the Slytherins. The students had just gotten settled in, when Professor Snape stalked in, robes billowing out behind him.

He stood up in front of the class and took the roll. When he got to Harry's name, he stopped and looked up. "Ah, Harry Potter, our newest – celebrity." He sneered at Harry and continued on with the roll.

Afterwards, he faced them all. "You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion making. There is little foolish wand-waving here, so most of you will no doubt not consider this to be true magic. I do not expect many of you to understand any of the beauty that comes from potions, but." He looked around at the students. "I can teach you to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death – if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."

Snape smiled, almost maliciously. "Potter!" He snapped. "What would I get if I added powered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

Harry sat there. _Powered what to an infusion of what?_ "I'm not sure Professor."

Hermione's hand flew into the air.

Snape nodded. "Typical, ride on your fame and know not a thing. Alright then, where would I find a bezoar?"

Harry shook his head. "I don't know that one either, Professor."

Hermione's hand was shaking in the air.

"Didn't even bother to look into your school books before you came, did you Potter?" Snape questioned.

"I did Professor, but I'm not good at memorizing every detail of a book." Harry replied

A couple of Gryffindors gasped, and even the Slytherins had a look of astonishment.

"Two points from Gryffindor for cheek. Maybe you can save yourself some face. What is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

Hermione's hand now seemed to be vibrating in the air, she was waving it so fast. She was at the point of jumping up and down in her seat.

"I can't remember that one either, Professor. Hermione seems to know, maybe you should ask her?"

Snape's face starting turning red in anger. "Three more points for repeated cheek, Mr. Potter." He whirled to face Hermione. "Sit down girl." Hermione sat.

He turned back to Harry. "For your information, Potter, asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping draught so powerful it is called the Draught of Living Death. A bezoar can save you from most poisons and can be found in the stomach of a goat. There is no difference between monkshood and wolfsbane as they are the same plant. It also goes by aconite." He scowled. "Well…? Why aren't you all writing this down?" The furious scratching of quills against parchment started up.

Harry narrowed his eyes at Snape. A glass vial on Snape's desk imploded.

Snape whirled around to face Harry. "Four points off for destroying school property!"

Harry's eyes widened at this. He opened his mouth to protest, when Ron pulled at his arm and whispered in his ear, "Don't! Fred and George say he just gets worse."

Harry closed his mouth.

The rest of the class did not go much better.

After having the class split up into pairs, Snape pointed his wand at the board, and a set of instructions appeared. "We'll be making a common cure for boils today. Follow the instructions exactly." He then started prowling around the class, making remarks to the students that seemed to be intended to mess them up.

Snape was actually pleased for once, when Malfoy's potion threw up a green cloud of smoke. "This is how it should be done." When Hermione's potion moments later did the same thing, he just looked into her cauldron and told her, "Too light of a color, you've messed up somewhere." And then he walked off.

_Instructor, definitely._ Harry thought, watching both Snape and his cauldron carefully while Ron was dicing up an ingredient.

A painful howl came from the other side of the classroom, and everyone looked up to see Neville covered with painful looking boils. His cauldron seemed to be bubbling over and the mess was eating into the wooden stools. The students close by jumped onto the available chairs and tables to get away from the concoction.

Snape swooped down on him. "Put the porcupine quills in before you took it off the fire, didn't you boy!" Neville couldn't answer. Snape shook his head, disgusted. He turned to Seamus who had been his partner. "Take him to the Hospital Wing."

He then rounded on Harry. "Potter! Why did you not tell him to add the quills after taking it off the fire? Wanted to make yourself look better if he got it wrong? Yet another point from Gryffindor."

Harry scowled at Snape. Several more glass phials around the room cracked. "Two points off for each one of those that just cracked."

"I'm not doing anything, Instructor Snape." Harry said through gritted teeth.

"Obviously, you're doing something Potter."

This time, a cauldron on Snape's desk spewed out its contents. "Four points for my cauldron Potter!"

Harry took a deep breath, and brought himself into the Void, but it seemed that there was something outside of the Void, bubbling, and it was just getting worse with the Flame near it.

Everything glass that didn't belong to a student shattered. "Thirty points total for that one Potter! Want to try for some more? I don't think Gryffindor is quite far enough in the negative numbers yet."

Harry dropped the Void, just to keep the Flame from bubbling whatever it was. The unfelt magic potential in the air dissipated.

Snape glared at him. "Class dismissed. Potter, if this happens again, I'll take a hundred points from Gryffindor and you'll have detention for a month. Now get out of my sight!"

Trudging out of the potions dungeon, Ron looked at Harry. "Merlin Harry, you had to have lost sixty points in there."

Harry shook his head. "I know, but I wasn't doing any of those things. Why would he think I was?"

Ron shrugged. "Best guess I've got is accidental magic, but you've got your wand now. That should control it."

Transfiguration was the next class, and Harry was able to enjoy that one much more.

Even if just because it was taught by their Head of House, Professor McGonagall.

"Transfiguration is one of the most complex and dangerous magics you will learn at Hogwarts. If I find anyone messing around in this class you will leave and not come back." With that, McGonagall transformed her desk into a pig and back again.

The class leaned forward, eager after that demonstration. But they soon found turning a desk into an animal was far into the future.

After spending half the class taking copious notes, they were each given a number of matchsticks, and told to attempt to change them into needles. By the end of the class, only Hermione had even been able to make her matchsticks a silver color; let alone into metal. She was graced with a rare smile from Professor McGonagall for that.

As everyone walked out of the classroom, Harry turned to look at his desk. The matchsticks were still sitting there, wooden, not silver, not even pointed. After everything that had happened during the day, his temper was at a high point. Channeling a decent portion of Chi into his wand, Harry pointed it at the offending pieces of wood. He nearly growled out the command, "_CHANGE_." The little pieces of wood, knowing a force majeure, listened.

Harry walked out smiling. Behind him sat several perfect metal needles, all lined up.

"Thirty points to Gryffindor." An astonished McGonagall managed to get out, but Harry didn't hear her.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

A week later, Harry could be found sitting in front of the fire in the common room, watching the flames. His fellow Gryffindors had finally calmed down enough to where they weren't bumping into each other trying to see him, so he had a few moments of peace while he was here.

"_Evanesco,"_ Harry heard a voice behind him. Turning, he spotted Percy practicing a spell on a snail in front of him. The snail would fade out of view for a moment, and then slowly return. And then he'd cast the spell again, causing the snail to disappear for a moment again, only to return.

_Cool, a temporary invisibility spell. How'd he move his wand?_ Harry watched Percy practice for another fifteen minutes, the prefect so intent on his attempts that he never noticed Harry's staring.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The next morning at breakfast, Harry trudged down the stairs, tired. Most of the rest of the students were there, an oddity for a Saturday morning.

Malfoy grinned move up to Harry, seeing him walk in. "Ah, Potter. Have you deigned to descend to the poor mortal's level? Maybe you will grace us with a story from your past, detailing how you have handled the Dark Lord in past battles?"

"Shove it, Malfoy." Harry said, as he sat down.

"Ah, but your adoring public awaits you. We all await your tales with _baited_ breath."

Harry narrowed his eyes at him. "Just shut up Malfoy."

But with a smirk, Malfoy shook his head. "Not until we get our tale out of you Potter."

Harry stood up. "Fine, you want a tale Malfoy? I'll give you a tail!"

Harry pointed his wand at Malfoy, who looked at him with glee. Harry channeled as much Chi as he could into his wand. He knew this might not even work. "_CHANGE!_" He roared.

A huge jet of power flew out of his wand. Malfoy barely managed to move out of the way at the last moment, and the Slytherin table was hit with the spell. The table disappeared, and where it had stood, was now a large pig, looking confused.

Everyone was either staring at the pig, or Harry. Harry looked over to Malfoy who was still on the ground, eyes wide. "Dang it, missed."

He then fell to the ground, completely drained.

* * *

Ha ha, first time I leave you people on a cliffhanger.

Oh, and 2 house points to the people who guessed the Techi-ken. That's one part of it.

Yu Yu Hakusho was the other part, 3 house points to Shadow Cael.

Random answers to questions:

-Yes, the pendant was cross shaped. What'd you expect from me, a triangle? LOL

-Harry will figure out soon what's up with his wand in terms of being connected with his Chi.

-In this story, there is NO such thing as a lightsaber.

Beta by Dr. Gero, who had some serious tweaking to do to this story.


	11. Chapter 10

**Clay Pinions**

By Lochar 

The lights dim, and a spotlight appears. Lochar walks out onto the stage.

"Ladies and Gentlemen. Just to let you know, I'm quite the narcissist." The author smiles. "Meaning, I check my stats page quite frequently. It has come to my attention that there are several people that have added my story onto either their author alert list, or story alert list but have not left a review. Did you perhaps not know you could do both at the same time, if you leave a review? I tend to thrive and write faster with more reviews."

Disclaimer: Don't own it. If I did, it wouldn't be considered fanfiction, and I'd be a cross-dresser.

**Chapter 10**

**

* * *

**

"Ohhhh." Harry groaned as he woke up. Opening his eyes, everything was a blur.

"Welcome back to the world of the waking, Mr. Potter." A familiar voice said. A hand appeared in front of his face, holding his glasses. "You may want these."

Harry took the glasses. "Thank you." He said as he put them on. He then turned to look at who it was. Professor Maison was sitting next to him. "What hit me?"

Maison frowned. "You hit yourself, for all intents and purposes. You're in the Hospital Wing." He waved his hand around, motioning to the room they were in. "You exhausted yourself."

"How'd I do that?"

Maison snorted. "Probably from turning the Slytherin table into a pig. Which, by the way took both the Headmaster and Professor McGonagall to change back."

The memory flashed back into Harry's mind. "Oh… oops. I wasn't aiming for the table."

"Be glad you hit it then. You would be in even more trouble if you had managed to hit young Mr. Malfoy. You'd have probably been expelled for a forced human transfiguration. As it is, Professor Snape was yelling for your expulsion anyways." He took a breath. "I'm disappointed in you as well."

Harry winced. "Why Professor?"

"You managed to break both of Sensei's rules at once. You started the fight, pulling your wand first. And then, you didn't finish it. You gave Mr. Malfoy the win." Maison explained.

"Both the Headmaster and Professor McGonagall want to talk to you as well. They allowed me to talk to you first, since there's other consequences to this as well that don't affect Hogwarts."

"What is that Professor?"

"You will not be learning anything new from me for the next two months. During your training, you will only be making sure you have not forgotten anything."

Harry was crestfallen. "Alright Professor."

Maison nodded. "I'll get the Headmaster." He got up from the seat next to Harry's bed and walked out of the room, quickly returning with Dumbledore and McGonagall.

McGonagall spoke first. "Mr. Potter, do you know what you did?"

"Turned the Slytherin table into a pig. Then I guess I passed out."

"It's not a surprise. You probably exhausted your magical core to the point of draining some of your physical strength to power it."

Dumbledore nodded. "Indeed." There was a twinkle in his eye though. "All four of the House tables are enchanted to be resistant against other forms of magic."

"I did push all of my Chi into my spell-"

Harry was cut off by Maison. "You did what!"

"I pushed all of my Chi into the spell." Harry repeated.

"How _idiotic_! How-" He forced himself to take a breath. "You are not supposed to use your Chi for magical spells. There's a reason you have a _magical core_." Maison nearly shouted at him.

Dumbledore and McGonagall were looking between Harry and Maison. Dumbledore was the first to find his voice. "Excuse me?"

Maison sighed. "Sorry, Headmaster. It's no wonder Harry was able to change the table. He was using a magical spell, but it wasn't using his magical core. That's why the enchantments didn't take effect."

Dumbledore looked at Harry, and then slowly spoke. "So Harry, why didn't you use your magical core then?"

Harry gave a small shrug. "My wand connected to my Chi, so that's what I've been using for my spells."

McGonagall spoke up. "So in your Transfiguration class a week ago, the needles were changed because you used this, 'Chi'?"

Harry looked down. "Yes Professor."

"When did you first connect it to your Chi, Harry?" Dumbledore asked.

"When I picked up my original wand and let the Rune look for my core. It wasn't going to my Chi, so I pushed it in into my Chi, and then a whole bunch of sparks came out of my wand and it pretty much blew up. Then Mr. Ollivander had to remake my wand with a Rune of…" He sent a questioning look to Maison.

"Control. He remade Mr. Potter's wand with a Major Rune of Control, instead of the Minor Rune of Absorption that is on the rest of his wands."

McGonagall's eyes widened at this, and Dumbledore looked thoughtful.

"Harry, if we gave you another wand with a Rune of Absorption on it, would you allow it to connect to your magical core so you would know where it was at?"

Harry shuddered. "Do I have to? Every wand besides this one," he pointed to his wand on the stand beside his bed. "felt dirty and wrong."

Dumbledore nodded. "You won't have to constantly use it, just find where your magical core is at, so you can use that instead of your Chi." He snapped his fingers, and a small creature appeared, clothed in a tea cozy with the Hogwarts crest on it. "Would you get me one of the Ancient Runes class test wands the older students keep please?"

The creature nodded, and disappeared again, reappearing moments later holding a wand. It handed the wand to Dumbledore and disappeared once more.

Noticing Harry's curious stare, Dumbledore smiled. "House-Elves are very useful creatures. Anyways, if you would hold onto this wand, Harry?" He held out the wand.

Harry took it, holding it gingerly. Immediately going into the Void, he pushed the feeling of wrongness into the Flame. He felt the probe from the Rune on the wand's handle, but this time didn't open his Void and push it into his Chi. The searching feeling meandered around inside him, and then he felt it tap into something. The wand heated up and a few red and gold sparks came out of the wand.

"Excellent Harry. Did you feel what it touched?" Dumbledore said.

Harry smiled and nodded. Inside the Void, before the Rune could pull back the seeking energy, Harry grabbed it and pulled it completely inside what it had tapped into.

The wand Harry was holding flared when the Rune of Absorption disappeared, and turned to ash. A unicorn hair fell out of the air, and Harry screamed.

The magic of the Rune seemed to be pulsing inside of him, trying to draw his magical energy, but it didn't have anywhere to deliver it to. The pressure inside of Harry's magical core kept building, as Harry kept screaming.

The three teachers hadn't been idle in the meantime. As soon as the wand had turned to ashes, Dumbledore and McGonagall had lifted their own wands, and were shielding the area. Maison stood to get the nurse, but it was unnecessary as she was already bustling in, drawn by Harry's first scream.

Harry's magical core pulsed, and the magical potential in the room doubled.

Shakily, his mind still almost being overwhelmed by the pain, Harry started feeding the Flame his pain, in an attempt to bring up the Void. The more he fed the flame, the less his core pulsed, but it seemed to be drawn to the Flame.

The nurse started casting diagnostic spells at Harry. "Headmaster, what in the world happened?" she asked as she starting rummaging for something to calm him down.

"I'm not quite sure Madam Pomfrey. I had one of the house-elves bring a spare wand the Ancient Runes class keeps for training, Mr. Potter grabbed it, and moments later it turned to ashes." Dumbledore said.

The nurse, Pomfrey, shook her head. "It's nothing I've ever seen before. One moment the spell says he's physically exhausted, and then he's fit. Then he's magically exhausted, followed by an abnormal amount of power for an eleven year old."

At that moment, Harry was unaware of what they were saying. He was concentrating on his newfound magical core, and feeding the pain into the Flame. His magical core seemed to embed right next to it, outside of where his Void would form. Once it settled completely, the pain stopped.

Harry opened his eyes to see the Headmaster, his Head of House, his martial arts Professor, and an unknown lady staring at him. "Ohhh, that hurt like bloody hell."

That seemed to snap them out of their trance. The unknown lady is a nurse's outfit tsk'ed at him. "Language Mr. Potter. And such a young age to be saying words like that."

The Headmaster shook his head. "Madam Pomfrey, I think in this case, he may be allowed. May I ask what you did, Mr. Potter?" Everyone seemed eager to find out what he had done.

"Um, when I broke my first wand, I pushed my Chi at it; this time when it touched what you said was my magical core, I pulled at it. It took a second, but I think I pulled all of it and then it started going crazy and hurt." Here Harry rubbed his arms, shivering in lingering pain. "I tried to get the Void," another strange look from everyone but Maison, who shushed them with a promise to explain later, "and pushing the pain into the Flame seemed to move my core. It stuck itself somehow next to the Flame, and the pain quit."

Dumbledore looked at Maison. Maison shrugged. "I don't know. My Chi energy is so low it's next to nothing. I couldn't do anything that Mr. Potter's talking about."

"Well… we do need to make sure that Mr. Potter's magical core is alright." Dumbledore said.

Pomfrey rounded on him. "Oh no you don't! He's been through quite enough. I won't allow you to have him try anything at the moment."

"So what is he to do about class tomorrow?" McGonagall asked.

The nurse looked to argue for a moment, but then she relented and sighed. "Fine. But keep it short and simple." She scowled at McGonagall.

Maison stood up at this. "Maybe I should lead? I at least know a bit about what Mr. Potter is using." Dumbledore nodded, and Maison turned to Harry. "Alright, bring yourself into the Void."

Harry nodded, quickly doing so.

"Alright, now, where is your magical core at? Outside or inside the Void?"

"Outside of it, next to the Flame." Harry replied.

Maison handed Harry his wand. "What I want you to do is try to channel it into your wand, like you were doing with your Chi earlier."

Harry tried to channel it into his wand, but it was like nothing was there. "It's not working like my Chi does."

Maison nodded. "Alright, try imaging it a different way. Maybe imagine tapping it with your wand, drawing the energy into it."

Harry closed his eyes, and tapped his wand in midair. "Still nothing."

"Can you think of a different way?"

Harry shrugged. "I don't know."

Dumbledore spoke up. "Harry, what is your wand connected to, right now?"

"My Chi." Harry replied.

"I read a report filed by the Ministry about part of what happened a few days after you got your wand. Did you remove your connection from your Chi at one point?"

"Yes Headmaster, I did."

"Do you think you can remove it again and tie it to your magical core instead?"

Harry nodded, and closed his eyes. He saw his Chi, and channeled a slight amount, enough to make the gold wire appear. Grabbing it, he moved the connection outside of his Void and touched it to his magical core. The gold wire turned silvery-red color, and his wand appeared at the other end of the connection. "I did it Headmaster, but it changed."

Dumbledore nodded. "That doesn't surprise me. You just changed your wand's magical signature. Now, can you channel energy into your wand? Try the _Lumos_ spell if you can."

Harry nodded, and concentrated on his newfound magical core. The energy seemed easy enough to manipulate into his wand, but there was nowhere near as much as he had in Chi. He held his wand up. "_Lumos."_

It was a very easy spell, no need for wand movements. A soft, warm glow lit the tip of his wand.

"Did it hurt at all, or was it hard to do?" Dumbledore asked.

"No, it was easy."

Everyone looked relieved that Harry hadn't hurt himself or his magical core. McGonagall sat down. "Now Mr. Potter, there is still the matter of your punishment."

Harry's head hung, and he let go of the magic he was channeling into his wand. The light vanished. "I'll take whatever punishment you decide I should face."

McGonagall smiled. "Alright then, you will have two weeks of detention. And since it was the Slytherin table you changed, you'll be serving those two weeks with the Slytherin Head of House, Professor Snape."

Harry looked up at this, panic in his eyes. "Instructor Snape?"

Maison's eyes boggled, and he nearly choked on his laughter holding it back.

Dumbledore nodded. "Yes. And it will start tomorrow night. As long as Madam Pomfrey allows you out today, of course."

Madam Pomfrey nodded. "If he checks out, he'll be out of here in about thirty minutes. Now you three shoo and leave me with my patient."

Maison, Dumbledore, and McGonagall nodded and left the room. As they left, Harry could faintly hear Headmaster Dumbledore talking to Professor Maison. "Would you kindly share the joke that Mr. Potter said when he said Instructor…"

A tap on his shoulder and Harry turned around in the bed. Madam Pomfrey was looking at him. "Alright you, up. Let's make sure you can still walk."

Harry got up easily enough, and asked the question on his mind. "'Still walk'? How long was I asleep?"

Pomfrey looked at him. "Right at twenty-four hours."

Harry hung his head. "So it's Sunday morning now?" A nod. "No wonder Professor Maison was so mad at me. I missed a lesson with him."

Now it was Pomfrey's turn to question him. "What lesson would that be? You won't be able to take his class until third year. And turn around while you answer, I need to check your back."

Harry turned. "He's supposed to be teaching me martial arts in place of my Sensei back at home." He felt her wand lightly touch his shoulders.

"Turn back around."

Harry faced her again.

She waved her wand at him and said something he didn't catch, and a light blue mist formed at the tip of her wand. "Hmm, that's odd. Mr. Potter, does your magical core feel any weaker from earlier? Any less than what it was before you cast that Lumos?"

Harry thought for a moment. "Not really."

"Ah, okay. You must be quick at regaining your magical strength back. I'm showing absolutely no drain on your core, even after casting a spell. I suppose you're free to go; but if you feel the slightest bit dizzy come straight here, understand? Now Mr. Weasley was looking for you last night, so I suggest you go see him."

Harry smiled, thanked her, and ran out of the Hospital Wing as fast as he could.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"Oi! Ron! What's up?" Harry asked, as he made it back into their common room.

"We've got flying lessons tomorrow. I was hoping you'd be out in time." Ron grinned. "Too bad you missed Malfoy though, it would have been fun to see him as a pig."

Harry smiled, but shook his head. "I would have been expelled if I had hit him."

Ron winced. "Oh, not good." Harry nodded. "Oh well, it was still a great thing to watch."

"Yeah, but what's even worse is I've got two weeks of detention with Instructor Snape."

Ron shuddered slightly at the thought. "Ouch. Maybe being expelled would have been better."

"No, I'd rather be here. Two weeks won't be too long."

"Alright. Hey, wanna play some Wizard Chess?"

0o0o0o00o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

At breakfast, all the first years could talk about were the flying lessons.

"You know what the only bad thing about this whole thing is?" Ron asked.

"Hmm?" Harry replied, trying to ignore the vicious, victorious glares he was receiving from Snape at the High Table.

"The fact that we've got to have flying lessons with the Slytherins."

Harry whirled around at Ron. "_What?_ You've got to be kidding me." Ron shook his head. "Great. Just great! And I was looking forward to learning to fly, too."

Ron grinned. "Hey, we can still have fun. Won't let them ruin it for us."

Harry nodded, and grinned a bit, just as the owl post flew in. A beautiful snowy white owl landed in front of Harry, with a note tied to its leg. When Harry removed the letter tied to the owl, it promptly bent down and stole a piece of bacon off of his plate.

"Hey! That was my bacon!" Harry laughed at the owl, before looking at the note.

_Harry,_

_While you're still in trouble, this is your belated birthday present from your Sensei and I. Her name is Hedwig, and I hope she will serve you well._

Harry looked up at the owl. "Hedwig?" The owl looked at him, hooted, and then stole another piece of bacon. He laughed.

_She seems to be pretty smart, and I thought she'd make a fine carrier for you. Just don't treat her like that's all she is, as you'd probably end up with mail taking a few extra days to get delivered, at a minimum._

_Sensei Uzuki & Professor Maison_

Harry looked to his new owl. "Well, since you're mine now, I guess stealing my bacon is ok." Hedwig hooted, and Harry grabbed his plate quickly. "But not all of it. I want some too!"

Ron laughed at this. "Better be careful mate, or she'll take it all."

Then they both heard Neville exclaim, "Oh, a Remembrall! It glows red when you've forgotten something…" He sputtered to a stop as the Remembrall started glowing. "Oh bother. Now if I could only remember what I forgot." He stuck it in his robes. "Oh well. It'll come to me eventually."

The Great Hall started clearing, and all of the first years quickly raced outside to the Quidditch pitch, eager to begin their first flying lesson.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Outside, they were all lined up, Gryffindors on one side, Slytherin on the other. The Flight Instructor, Madam Hooch, walked around the students, making sure everyone was lined up to their assigned broom and ready to begin.

"Alright class, put your right arm out over the broom, and say 'UP!'" She announced when she got back to the front of the class.

Everyone said it, with differing degrees of success. Neville's broom just flopped over, while Ron's broom came up about three quarters of the way and fell back down again.

Malfoy's broom came straight into his hand, but that wasn't a surprise to anyone that had heard him bragging incessantly about having flown plenty before coming to Hogwarts.

Harry's own broom also came straight into his hand. When it hit his palm, he grasped it and felt a tingle go down his arm.

All of the rest of the students who hadn't gotten the broom to fly on the first try keep saying 'Up!' and after a few tries, everyone had finally gotten their brooms in the hands.

"Alright class. Mount up. Swing your right leg over the broom, and sit on it just slightly ahead of the twigs. Grasp the end of the broom firmly with both hands." She started walking around, correcting people who hadn't done it right.

"Mr. Weasley, your hands need to be a little higher up." She pointed about six inches up the broomstick. "If you keep your hands down there, you'll eventually strain your wrists."

Ron nodded, and she walked to Harry. "Mr. Potter… hmm, you seem to have corrected yourself from what I showed Mr. Weasley." Harry nodded. "Good enough then." She finished correcting the Gryffindors, then walked over to the Slytherins.

"Mr. Nott, do not sit on the twigs of your broom, you'll end up falling right off." She corrected one of them.

She went up the line, mostly making minor corrections to the group.

"Mr. Malfoy… Where shall I start? First off, wand hand over weak hand will give you much better control over your broom. And sitting that far up your broom will cause you to slow down in your speed as well." She corrected him for another minute or so, finally acknowledging him as well enough on his broom to continue. As she walked off, Malfoy was glaring holes into her back.

She turned around to face the class. "Alright class, on the count of three, I want you to push off with your feet, and turn the broom level with the ground so you hover about three feet above it.

"1, 2,…" She never got to three, as Neville, in a desperate attempt to not be left on the ground kicked off a moment too soon. He kept going up and up. "Silly boy!" Hooch yelled at him. "Point the broomstick down towards the ground slightly!" Neville apparently hadn't heard her, as the nose of the broom tipped up a bit more, and Neville fell off from forty feet in the air.

He landed on his stomach, but had an arm out to seemingly try to stop his fall, as Madam Hooch ran over to him. She looked him over, and noticed his hand turned in an odd manner. "Broken wrist." She turned to look back at the rest of the students. "Drop the brooms. If anyone is in the air when I come back, you'll be back on the train before you can say Quidditch. I've got to take Mr. Longbottom here to the Hospital Wing."

Everyone stood around for a few minutes, until Malfoy walked over to where Neville had fallen. "Look at this. Isn't this the thing his Gran sent him? Maybe I should put it somewhere he'll be able to find it… Like up a tree!"

Harry walked over. _Remember the rules. Don't start anything, but don't let him win._ "Give it here Malfoy, I'll make sure he gets it back."

Malfoy shook his head. "I don't think so Potter. If you want it, come and catch me!" With that, he quickly mounted the broom he was still holding and flew up into the air about thirty feet and hovered there. "Coming Potter?" He called down.

Harry grimaced, and then looked around. A broom was lying near him. He grabbed it and mounted. Feeling the little tingle again, Harry entered the Void, ignoring someone's calls for him to put the broom down.

A faint glow was coming from his magical core, and it seemed to be slightly reaching out towards nothing. He had the feeling that it was reaching out towards the broom. Smiling, he pushed it slightly in the direction it wanted to go, and he felt the broom under his hands echo outside the Void.

Opening his eyes, Harry had a cheshire grin on his face. Pushing off quickly, he easily rose to Malfoy's level. Malfoy's eyes widened as Harry spoke. "Now we're all alone up here, and we play by my rules. Rule one. You started it, so we're playing now. Rule two, I'll win, but we keep it to what you do. Don't pull your wand and I won't pull mine. And you don't have any protection up here from the two mini-Goliaths."

Malfoy's eyes narrowed as he seemed to suddenly realize that he didn't have any protection. He smirked. "Fine Potter, you wanna play? Then CATCH!" Malfoy threw the glass ball directly at one of Hogwarts' towers, apparently intent on breaking it.

Harry didn't even think. Pushing the broom forward, he immediately accelerated to the max the broom was capable. Chasing after the little object, he noticed it was going straight for a closed window. In his mind, he pushed the broom a little down, and it went into a steep dive, directly at the window. Spinning the broom around quickly, he put his hand out and the Remembrall landed right into his hand.

Smiling, he descended to the ground, not noticing a white-faced Professor McGonagall standing at the window. Who then quickly turned around and nearly ran out of her office.

Landing, Harry grinned triumphantly, holding Neville's Remembrall. He was about to walk back to Ron and the rest of the Gryffindors, when he heard a loud voice.

"MISTER POTTER!" It was almost a bellow. Turning around, Harry saw Professor McGonagall rushing up to them. "Come with me."

Harry nodded and gave the ball to Ron. Turning to follow her, he saw Malfoy grinning and waving at him. _Waving goodbye, arrogant git._

Following his Head of House, she walked to the Charms classroom. Opening the door, she stuck her head in. "Professor Flitwick, do you mind if I borrow Wood?"

_Wood? If she thinks she's going to beat me, I may end up getting myself expelled._ Harry's fears were unfounded, as a young man in his fourth or fifth year came out of the classroom.

"Mr. Wood, I have found you a Seeker." She told him. Wood's eyes were wide enough to make you think Christmas had come early this year.

Wood walked around him, peering at him. "You've got the right build, if a little tall. Very lithe though." He turned to McGonagall. "He any good at catching Professor?"

"Very. He caught a glass Remembrall on a fifty foot dive, without taking a scratch." _ And I could swear that Cleansweep 3 was going a bit faster than it was designed to._ She added mentally.

"Great! But…"He looked at McGonagall. "He's going to need a broom. A Cleansweep 7 or a Nimbus."

She nodded. "I will see to that." She looked at Harry. "Oh, and Mr. Potter? You are not to tell anyone that you will be getting a broom."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

That evening, Harry had his first detention with Snape. It promised to be horrible for Harry.

"Ah, Mr. Potter. Glad to see you could make it. I wasn't sure you'd be able to come, from what my students have told me." Snape smirked at him.

"I'll be here every evening until my detention is done, Instructor." Harry replied.

"Then the first thing you will do is repair everything you broke in class a week ago." He pointed to a shelf where all the broken glass was sitting. "The incantation is '_Reparo'_, but you'll need to separate the different phials and tubes apart."

Harry looked at the pile. "Is there any wand movements for the spell, Instructor?"

Snape sneered. "I would think a boy of your _esteemed_ intellect would be able to figure out such a trivial thing."

Harry sighed. "Yes Instructor." He went over to the shelf and started separating the pieces.

An hour later, Harry had managed to put together most of the pieces of everything. But in a few cases, there seemed to be a missing piece or two. Sighing, he started trying to repair the ones he had all the pieces for.

"_Reparo!"_ He pointed his wand at one of the phials as he channeled some of his magic into his wand. And nothing happened. "_Reparo!"_ He tried again, with the same results.

"Alright, you want to play that way?" Closing his eyes, he drifted into the Void for a moment. His magical core seemed to pulse as he watched it. _Alright, there's probably fifty or sixty phials and tubes. I managed to put together about forty of them._ Concentrating, he channeled a good-sized portion of his magic into his wand and opened his eyes.

Remembering how he'd seen Maison fix his glasses once, Harry dropped his wand down slightly, and then pushed it at the broken glass. _"REPARO!"_ Pushing all the magic he had channeled into his wand, almost a dozen different phials flew together, looking no worse for the wear.

In his office, Snape looked up. _Idiot boy, can't even get a simple repairing spell to work right for him. Shouting won't make it work any better boy._ Chuckling darkly to himself, he turned back to the papers and potions he was grading. He heard several more "_Reparo!"_ coming from the potions room, and then a tired looking Harry Potter appeared at the office to his door.

"Instructor, I've fixed as many as I'm able. I can't find the rest of the pieces for thirteen of them though." Harry said.

Snape's eyes narrowed. "You've finished already?"

Harry shook his head. "No Instructor, but I've fixed as many as there were whole pieces of."

Snape nodded. "Let me see them then."

Harry led him back to where he had been repairing the glass containers, and Snape was surprised to see all but thirteen of them were completely repaired. He turned to Harry. "Alright Potter, get out of here. You can finish the rest tomorrow, as your time is up tonight. And since you didn't put them back on the shelf yourself, they're just going up there in a big pile." Waving his wand at the still broken pieces, they all piled up on the shelf. "I'll find the rest of the pieces for you tomorrow. Don't worry, you'll still have plenty to do."

And Harry did. For the next two weeks, Snape would put him through meaningless chores; scrubbing cauldrons by hand, hand washing beakers, and precutting simple ingredients for his personal use.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

_Last night of detention._ Harry thought to himself, as he trudged down to the dungeons, afraid of what Instructor Snape might have in store for him as a last night of torture.

"Ah, Mr. Potter. Just in time." Snape grinned malevolently. "One of my fifth year Hufflepuffs managed to so thoroughly ruin a potion, they managed to create a sludge that is almost completely magic resistant. So tonight, you're going to be cleaning the entire dungeon, _by hand_." Snape conjured a few buckets of soapy water and a pile of cleaning rags. "Get to it Mr. Potter, you won't be leaving until you're done." He walked off, back into his office.

Harry sighed. _I'm going to be falling asleep in Astronomy tonight._ With another huge sigh, Harry got to work.

Four hours later, Harry was finally finished. Getting up, Harry muttered to himself, "Magic resistant nothing, it was clean resistant, period." He walked over to Instructor Snape's office, and knocked.

"Are you about done then, Mr. Potter?" Snape's voice came through the door. It then opened up. "I would have figured you'd have been done an hour ago." He looked back to something in his office. "As a matter of fact, I do believe you have an Astronomy class that begins in ten minutes."

Harry paled. He quickly turned around and ran to the exit of the classroom.

"Mr. Potter!" Harry turned around. "Five points for not asking to be excused."

Harry grimaced. "May I be excused then, Instructor Snape?"

Snape seemed to think for a moment. "Oh, I guess you are excused then."

Harry turned again, and raced for the exit. _I'd better change. I'm going to lose points either way, but the smell on my robes would make Professor Sinistra take triple the points._

He quickly raced up to the Gryffindor Tower, changed, and ran as quickly as he was able to the other tower where the Astronomy class was being held.

He was thirty minutes late by the time he got there.

"Glad you could join us Mr. Potter. Oversleep?" Professor Sinistra asked.

Harry shook his head. "No Professor, finishing up a detention with Instructor Snape."

"Ah. Well then, only five points off for such tardiness." She said.

Harry nodded, thankful it wasn't more. Quickly taking a seat next to Ron, he caught a glare from… _Hermione,_ he thought her name was.

"Thought you'd never get out of there." Ron whispered.

"Neither did I. If I find out which Hufflepuff it was who made the mess, I may do Instructor Snape a favor and strangle them. I spent four hours cleaning potion gunk by hand."

Ron winced. "Ouch."

The rest of the class went by smoothly, with Harry slowly trying to nod off as Professor Sinistra lectured.

At the end of the class, Ron nudged Harry. "C'mon mate, we've got to get back to bed."

Harry looked up, slightly bleary eyed. "Bed sounds really good."

They both got up, and stumbled down the stairs to the ground floor, before heading towards their own tower. They took it slow as to rest, so most of the other first year Gryffindors were well ahead of them.

Unfortunately, Hermione decided she was going to follow them and berate them. "I can't believe you! You finished a detention, only to get more points taken off of Gryffindor. How could you?" She demanded.

"Oh hush up. It's not like he was trying or anything. The git Snape purposely kept him there until he'd be late." Ron snapped back, as they reached the base of the Gryffindor tower.

"_Professor_ Snape is not a 'git,' he is just a very strict teacher. You'd do well to pay more attention in his classes." She sniffed.

"Whatever. Can we argue about this at a more reasonable time?" Harry asked plaintively, hoping to get to bed sometime soon.

"Fine." Hermione said, walking ahead of them, and up the second floor stairs.

Walking up behind her, Ron and Harry shrugged. "Girls." They both said. Once they got to the third floor, they found Hermione looking about.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked.

"This floor... It's the corridor we weren't supposed to go down! The stairs must have changed after the rest of the class got off them!" Hermione whispered panicky. "We're going to get in trouble! We need to get off of this floor, now!"

Harry, not wanting to get in any more trouble tonight, nodded. Ron agreed as well. "Well, where do we go?" Ron asked.

Just then, they heard a voice, and saw a light coming. "Ah… where do they be Mrs. Norris? Students up and about, running around the forbidden corridor?"

"It's Filch and his cat!" Ron hissed.

Hermione's face turned white. "I can't get into trouble!" They ran away from the light, coming to a door. Ron grabbed the handle and pulled, but there was a lock on it. Hermione shook her head. "Oh, move out of the way." Pulling her wand, she pointed it at the door. "_Alohomora."_ She said, and the lock unhooked. Opening the door quickly, they ran inside and hastily the door behind them.

Putting their ears to the door, they didn't hear anything. "I think we're safe." Harry said.

Ron turned around. "Uhh.. uhh.. uhh.. H- Harry… I don't think we're safe yet!"

Harry and Hermione turned around, only to see a gigantic three-headed dog, bending down low to stare at them. It growled.

All three screamed, and quickly went back through the door, throwing the bolt back.

"Merlin! What was that thing?" Ron asked.

Hermione was breathing hard. "I don't know, but it was standing on something, did you see?"

Harry shook his head. "The only thing I saw were three heads trying to decide which head got to eat one of us first."

"It must have been guarding something, but what?" Hermione wondered.

Ron shook his head. "I'm for never finding out. I'm going to bed. C'mon Harry."

All three managed to make it back to bed without any further problems.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Harry awoke the next morning, almost as tired as he had been when he went to bed. Groaning, he pulled himself out of bed and stumbled into the shower area. _Thank god and Merlin that I'm done with my detentions. _Getting done with his shower, he managed to slowly make the trek down to the Great Hall for breakfast. _And that stupid dog didn't help any, either._

Sitting down to eat, his new owl Hedwig came in with the rest of the post owls. She had a letter tied to her leg. Landing, she allowed Harry to take the letter while she stole a piece of bacon from his plate.

_Harry,_

_Thought you might like to come down and talk about your parents like you said you wanted to. Bring your friend with you._

_Hagrid_

"Hey Ron…" Harry started, just as another three owls dropped a package in front of him. It was a long, thin package, and Harry knew immediately what it was. Grabbing it, he nearly ran out of the Great Hall, all previous fatigue forgotten.

Ron quickly followed. "What's up mate?"

Harry turned around, grinning. "Remember when I got into trouble during the flying lesson?" Ron nodded. "Well, Professor McGonagall took me to Oliver Wood; you know, the Gryffindor team captain? I got stuck on the Quidditch team as Seeker."

Ron's eyes went wide. "Bloody hell! Then that's a broom?"

Harry nodded, and tore into the paper. Carefully, he pulled out a brand new broom. It almost seemed to glow, and Harry was grinning ear to ear.

"Wow." Ron's voice was filled with reverence. "It's a _Nimbus 2000_. It's one of the best brooms out there."

"What've you got there Potter?" Malfoy came into the hallway. "A broom? First years aren't allowed to have brooms." He smirked gleefully. "And you just got off of your detention too! You'll be back on it for sure now!"

Malfoy rushed off and came back with Professor Flitwick quickly. "See Professor? Potter's got a broom! It's against school rules."

Flitwick nodded. "I'd heard about it. That's one of the new models, isn't it?"

Ron spoke up. "It's a Nimbus 2000, Professor."

"Well, enjoy yourselves then. I'd like to see what you can do out on the Quidditch Pitch Mr. Potter." Flitwick walked off, humming to himself.

Malfoy's face was red. "Alright Potter, I don't know what you've done, but you'll get what's coming to you eventually." He stalked off.

Ron turned to Harry. "Come on, let's go try it out!" Harry grinned, but then shook his head. "Hagrid wanted me to stop by his hut. He wanted to talk about my parents. You can come if you want to."

Ron thought for a moment, then nodded. "Alright, but we're trying your broom out afterwards."

Grinning, Harry readily agreed and they walked out of the school, down to Hagrid's hut.

* * *

A/N: Thanks to all of you in advance for reviewing and for those of you who reviewed my last chapter. You make this much more fun to do. Also, as an added bonus, what should I do next? The next chapter of Clay Pinions, or "Nine Months without my Cousin," which is Dudley's side of Year 1.

**Tiny Tiny Hermit:** No, Evanesco isn't an invisibility spell, but Harry thinks it is. grin

**Wytil:** No thank you, I already have enough bunnies running around my head as it is.

As usual, Dr. Gero beta'd this, and found my misc. plot holes. They seemed to be more of plot pitholes, but eh. Thanks. :D


	12. Chapter 11

**Clay Pinions**

By Lochar 

A/N: I had two votes, both for this, so this chapter appears first.

A/N the second: I apologize, as I came across rather harsh in my last chapter. I did not mean 'review or go away', but more of a 'please review if you're taking the time to put me on an alert'. Of course, just doing that tells me you're enjoying the story, but I'd like to hear it from you as well.

Disclaimer: If I owned it, you would be buying this instead of reading it online.

Chapter 11

* * *

Walking down to Hagrid's hut after their morning classes were over, Harry and Ron talked Quidditch and Harry's new place on the team. 

"You've gotta be the youngest seeker in Hogwarts' history." Ron enthusiastically said.

"Youngest in a century, according to Wood." Harry smiled.

Reaching the edge of the Forbidden Forest, they came to the small wooden hut that was Hagrid's home. Harry knocked on the stout door.

Barking and shouting were heard within, as Hagrid opened the door slightly. "Hiya Harry! Gimme just a sec." A rather large black dog's snout poked through the cracked door, and then was pulled back. "_Back, _Fang! _Back!_" could be heard coming from inside the house.

Hagrid opened the door up all the way, and waved them inside. He was holding back an enormous black boarhound, which seemed to strain at the hold Hagrid had on it.

Ron looked nervously at it. "He's safe, right?"

Hagrid laughed. "O'course Fang here's safe. E's just a big puppy." Hagrid slowly let go of the big dog, and Fang bounded over to them, sniffing at them. Ron patted him on the head nervously, and sat down in a chair, only to have Fang jump up next to him and lick his ears. Harry sat down as well, and Hagrid served them with some biscuits.

Or at least some rocks masquerading as biscuits. Ron tried to take a bite out of one, and nearly chipped a tooth. Noticing, Harry quietly put his biscuit back on the plate.

Hagrid, Harry, and Ron spent the next hour swapping stories. Harry and Ron told Hagrid about their lessons, and Hagrid would tell them stories of Harry's parents' time at school.

Harry also complained about Snape. "He has to hate me, he tormented me for the two weeks of my detention."

Hagrid shook his head. "Nah, Professor Snape just don't like about anyone. An ya really did a number on their house table, as well." But Hagrid wouldn't quite meet Harry's eyes at that comment.

Harry just shook his head and looked down. Noticing a copy of the paper on the table, he grabbed it and looked at the headline.

_**Break-in at Gringotts Still Under Investigation**_

Harry quickly looked over the article. _Hey, August 1st, isn't that when I was there with Professor Maison?_ He looked up. "Hey Ron, isn't this the break-in you said something about on the train?"

Ron looked at the paper. "Yeah, it is. Wow, you mean they still haven't figured out who it was?"

Harry looked up at both Ron and Hagrid. "That was the day I was shopping with Professor Maison." He looked thoughtful for a moment. "Weren't you at Gringotts too, Hagrid?"

Hagrid nodded slightly. "On official Hogwarts business, Harry."

Harry looked at Hagrid closely and nodded, while Ron glanced at his watch. "Blimey Harry! Weren't you supposed to meet Wood for your first training session five minutes ago?"

Harry quickly looked at his watch, cursed, and said, "Sorry Hagrid, I'll have to come back. Ron, you wanna come with me?"

Ron nodded, and both boys got up -with some difficulty on Ron's part thanks to Fang- hastily left Hagrid's hut, and ran to the Quidditch pitch.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Oliver Wood was waiting impatiently in the locker room when Ron and Harry both ran inside.

"It's about time you showed up. You're late. Don't be late for another practice session." He frowned at Ron. "What're you doing here?"

Harry spoke up. "I asked him if he wanted to come. We're going to play with my broom once practice is over."

Oliver nodded. "Alright then. But don't get in the way, you hear?" He almost glared at Ron.

Ron gulped. "I understand. Gryffindor needs the win."

Oliver smiled and walked outside. "Come on then Harry, I've got everything already set up out there."

Ron looked at Harry. "Fred and George are on the team, and told me to tell you if you get in trouble with Oliver over Quidditch, just to agree with him and say it's for the good of the team. I didn't think I'd ever need the advice though." Ron smiled.

They both walked outside, where Oliver was opening up a big trunk with the Hogwarts seal on it.

He pulled out the first ball. "Alright Harry, this is a Quaffle." Harry nodded, not mentioning that Ron had already told him most of the rules back when they had been on the train. "Chasers use this to score, and the Keeper protects the goals. If the Quaffle goes through any of the goals it's worth ten points." He pointed to the three raised goals.

He pointed to the two balls tied down that were furiously trying to break free. "Those two are the Bludgers. They go after the players, and it's up to the team Beaters to keep them away from the rest of the team and direct the Bludgers to the other team."

Harry looked at them warily. Ron had described them, but seeing them was a different matter. "Anyone ever get hurt from one of those things?"

Oliver shook his head. "Nothing that Madam Pomfrey can't fix in a jiffy. And Hogwarts has never had a death in Quidditch." Harry paled. "_Never_ Harry. And it rarely even happens in the major leagues."

He flipped open the Hogwarts crest that was inside the trunk and pulled out a little golden ball. "And this is what you have to be concerned about. This… is the Golden Snitch." He handed it to Harry, and it opened up its wings and started lifting off. Harry quickly closed his hand around it. "That's the idea. Catch it and don't let it go. The game doesn't end until the Snitch is caught. The team that catches the Snitch gets 150 points, and usually wins."

Harry nodded.

"Alright, as we don't want to lose the Snitch, we're going to use these," he pulled out a bag of golf balls, "to practice your catching with. Come on, let's get in the air."

Harry grabbed his broom and took off. Feeling his magical core attempt to reach out again, Harry pushed it towards his broom. Again like what had happened in the flying lesson, an echo of his broom appeared outside the Void. He pulled up on the broom, and it gently rose to about thirty feet, at Oliver's level.

"Alright, I'm going to go up a little bit. You stay below me, and I'll throw them." He looked down at Ron. "Hey, make yourself useful! Count the number of balls he catches!" Ron yelled back that he would. "Now Harry, catch them before they hit the ground."

Harry nodded and quickly centered himself in the Void. "Ready then."

"We'll start easy." Oliver lobbed a ball to drop about ten feet in front of Harry.

Harry quickly pushed his broom forward and caught it before it had dropped more than a foot or two below him.

Oliver nodded, and threw another ball, this time right at Harry's broom. Harry didn't have enough time to move back, and it fell behind him. Quickly turning, Harry dove at the little golf ball, but it had hit the ground. Scowling, Harry returned to his starting spot, awaiting the next ball.

Oliver tried the same trick, but Harry just dropped a foot down and caught the ball.

They spent thirty minutes, refining Harry's sense of distance to the golf balls, before Oliver started making things really hard. "Ready?" Without waiting for Harry's nod he tossed the ball behind him, away from Harry.

Harry, with only a moment's hesitation, quickly leaned over his broom and zoomed off after the golf ball. He watched the little ball sail up, and then gravity catch it and it started down towards the ground. Growling, Harry pushed as hard as he could on the broom, angling it down to where he thought he could catch it at.

Oliver turned around to watch, and gasped. When he had thrown the ball, both he and Harry were nearly two hundred feet in the air, and now Harry was in a steep dive, his eyes locked on the golf ball.

Harry's eyes narrowed. _You're not going to touch the ground, _he thought._ Come on broom, just a little more_. He pushed the echo in his mind and it seemed he was able to gain a little more speed, but the broom started vibrating under his hands. He reached out, and managed to snag the golf ball, still twenty feet in the air, and immediately started pulling up.

Ron shouted, "Bloody Hell! No!" as Harry was barely able to pull up enough, and leveled out mere inches above the ground.

Not able to maintain his grip on the broom one handed, Harry tried to slow down his broom. Getting it to a manageable, slower speed, he rolled off the broom, allowing it to stop under its own power as there was no rider. Harry rolled another fifteen feet before being able to stop himself and stand up. He turned to look at Oliver.

Oliver was in the process of flying down to him, and Ron was running as quickly as he could towards Harry.

"Merciful Heavens Potter! Don't _DO_ that!" Oliver shouted as soon as he landed. "It's only training, you're allowed to let them hit the ground! You could have killed yourself!"

Ron, who had finally caught up and saw that Harry as okay, laughed. "Maybe you should have said don't try to kill yourself unless it's the actual Snitch." Oliver glared at him. "Um, I'll be quiet now."

Oliver turned to Harry and grinned. "Alright, I think you're good enough to be a bloody good Seeker. I don't think even Charlie Weasley did things like that, and he could have played professional if he hadn't gone off chasing dragons."

Oliver collected the balls and left, leaving Ron and Harry to spend the rest of the afternoon playing on Harry's Nimbus.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

That night, before Harry fell asleep, he thought about the day. _Wonder what Hagrid's official business was at Gringotts that day?_ Harry yawned, and then sat up. _Wait a second, didn't Professor Maison say the only place safer than Gringotts is Hogwarts, depending on what you wanted to protect? And that Hermione said that stupid dog was standing on something? …No way._ Harry shook his head, and went to sleep. That night, Harry dreamed that instead of the three-headed dog, it was Hagrid's dog Fang in the corridor, but it was bigger. He didn't remember it the next morning.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Between Quidditch practice three nights a week and classes slowly leaving the basics and becoming more fun as new spells were introduced, Harry was astounded to realize that he had been at Hogwarts for almost two whole months. He was also soon to be released from his punishment with Professor Maison and be allowed to start learning new things in regards to the martial arts.

And today promised to be an interesting day. Professor Flitwick had said they would start on the practical portion of the Levitation Charm today, and there was the Halloween feast to look forward to at supper that night.

Professor Flitwick had split the class up into pairs, and Harry had lucked out and not gotten Neville as his partner, who had been looking hopefully at him for pointers. Ron had not fared as well, and had ended up partnered with Hermione, who was still mad at them for the run in with the three-headed dog.

"Now remember students, swish and flick. An easy swish, with a quick flick of the wand. Same as we've been practicing."

Harry and Seamus both started swishing and flicking their wands at the feathers in front of them, with little results. Seamus tried poking the feather as he flicked his wand, but all he managed with that was catching the feather on fire.

"_Wingardium Leviosa!"_ Swish and flick. Nothing. "_Wingardium Leviosa!_" Swish and flick. Nothing again. Harry looked at the feather. _And Professors McGonagall and Maison said no forcing it to work, to learn the spell instead of just throwing as much magic or Chi at it as I can._ Sighing, he tried again. "_Wingardium Leviosa!_" Still nothing. He looked over at Ron. At least he wasn't the only one having trouble.

"_Wingardium Leviosa! Wingardium Leviosa! Wingardium Leviosa!_" Ron kept repeating, flapping his arms about like a chicken as he kept attempting the spell.

"Watch where you're swinging that Ron, do you want to put my eye out?" Hermione complained. "You're saying it all wrong, and not even doing the motions correctly. It's Wing-_gar-_dium Levi-_o_-sa, you have to make the 'gar' nice and long."

"Alright then, if you're so clever, you do it!" Ron managed to bite out between gritted teeth.

Hermione primly nodded, rolled up her sleeves, and gently swished and flicked her wand at the feather. "_Wingardium Leviosa!"_

The feather came up off the desk and hovered about four feet into the air.

"Well done!" Professor Flitwick said, clapping. "Look here everyone, Miss Granger has managed it!"

Ron scowled. "Alright, if you can do it, so can I. Drop it so I can try."

Hermione smiled, and let the feather drop back onto the table.

"_Wingardium Leviosa!"_ Ron yelled at the feather, swishing his wand as hard as he could at it. The feather moved slightly. "Hey! I almost got it!"

Hermione shook her head. "No, I think that was the breeze coming from your wand."

Ron glared at her again, then sat back in his chair sulking and stared at the feather.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

As they were pushing their way through the crowded corridor, Ron was grumbling to Harry. "It's no wonder no one can stand the girl, she a know-it-all nightmare."

Someone pushed by them, and Harry noticed it was Hermione. Catching a glimpse of her face, Harry saw tears streaming down her cheeks.

Elbowing Ron, Harry hissed to him, "She heard you!"

Ron looked uncomfortable, but kept going. "So? She must have noticed she's doesn't have a single friend."

But Hermione wasn't in their next class, nor was she around for the rest of the day. On the way to the Halloween feast in the Great Hall, both boys heard a girl named Parvati telling her friend Lavender that Hermione had shut herself up in the bathroom all day long, and had been crying. Ron looked very uneasy at this, but moments later, walking into the Great Hall, the emotion was lost among the Halloween decorations.

Thousands of live bats fluttered around, and there were huge carved pumpkins sitting in the corners of the room and in front of the Head Table. Apparently, Professor Flitwick had charmed a few of them, as they were rolling around and trying to talk to each other.

Sitting down, Harry and Ron waited for the food to be served. It didn't take long, as like in the Start-of-Term feast, all manner of delicious food appeared. They both loaded their plates up high with food, and just as Harry was about to take a bite of corn on the cob the doors slammed open. Professor Quirrell ran up the center aisle, and then slumped against the High Table.

"Troll! Troll, in the dungeon." Quirrell moaned, and then slumped to the ground in a dead faint.

Utter pandemonium ensued, as everyone panicked and ran for the doors. Several very loud explosions and purple fireworks came from the High Table, where Dumbledore was standing. "STUDENTS!" His voice echoed around the hall. Everyone stopped and looked to him.

"Thank you. Prefects, please lead your housemates back to your common rooms. We will take care of this."

Percy seemed to be in his element, shouting out commands to all of the Gryffindors. "Gryffindor students! Follow me! Back to the common room, hurry now!"

As everyone starting head back, Harry turned to Ron. "Ron! What about Hermione! She doesn't know about the troll."

Ron looked at him. "Are you crazy? It's a _troll_ Harry. It's a lot safer just going back to the common room."

Harry shook his head. "But it's pretty much all your fault she wasn't here. Come on!" Grabbing him, they joined the group of Hufflepuffs heading towards the other side of the castle.

Quickly ducking out of the group after they had gotten out of the Great Hall, they ran towards the girl's bathroom nearest the Charms classroom. Before they could make it there, they heard quick footsteps.

"Blast! It's probably Percy looking for us or Hermione." Ron whispered harshly.

"Quick!" Harry ducked behind a suit of armor, pulling Ron with him.

But it wasn't Percy. It was Snape, swiftly moving past them and up the stairs.

"Where's he off to? The troll's in the dungeons." Harry looked at the stairs Snape had gone up. "Hey, those are the stairs to the third corridor!"

Ron shook his head. "Worry about him later. Do you smell that?"

Harry looked at Ron, who was now holding his nose. Taking a whiff of the air, Harry nearly gagged himself. It was an odor of something rotten combined with the smell of someone who hadn't bathed in weeks, if not months. "Ugh, what is it?"

Ron pointed, and Harry turned. They could see a huge shadow being cast on the wall down the hall, and slight booming thuds could be heard. "It's the troll!"

As it walked into the intersection, it looked around. Harry and Ron froze, willing it to not see them. The ten-foot monstrosity peered down their hall, and then started walking away from them. It paused, and scratched its head.

"Maybe it'll go in there, and we can get out of here." Ron whispered as quietly as he could. Harry nodded his agreement.

The troll seemed to consider for a moment, then went into the room. Harry and Ron ran after it, slamming the door behind it and throwing the bolt. "Yes! Come on, let's get out of here!" Ron said.

"Right, come on." Harry agreed, and they both started running back down the hallway, only to be stopped by a female scream. Harry groaned. "Oh no, we didn't just lock that troll in the girl's bathroom with Hermione, did we?" He turned and ran back to the door.

"Yep, we did." Harry quickly undid the bolt and went into the restroom.

The place was almost completely torn apart. The troll was slowly moving towards Hermione, who was cowering in fear in the corner. Harry looked around, and grabbed a piece of one of the sinks and threw it at the troll. "Hey, ugly!"

Ron took up the idea as well, grabbing a metal pipe that had come loose. Throwing it at the troll, he yelled out, "Hey, Dungbomb breath!"

The troll, not feeling the things bouncing off it, nevertheless heard the voices. Turning, a stupid smile came over its face as it saw the two boys.

"Bugger." Harry muttered. "Hermione! Get out of there while we've got its attention!" But the girl was scared stiff, and didn't move. Harry looked at Ron. "I'm going to distract it. You get Hermione out of there."

Ron stared at him and began to open his mouth, but Harry shook his head. "Don't ask. Just do it." Ron hesitated for a moment, then nodded and got ready to grab Hermione.

Harry looked at the troll. "This is going to hurt one of us a hell of a lot, and quite frankly? I don't know who it's going to be. But we're using my rules." Centering himself deeply in the Void, Harry starting channeling as much Chi as he could into his body.

-

Down in the dungeons, Professor Maison winced and then looked up. "Headmaster, I don't think the troll is down here."

Dumbledore looked at him. "Oh, why is that?"

Maison rubbed his temples. "Because Harry just channeled enough Chi to about blind my senses down here, and I've told him not to do anything without me there. I think he managed to find the troll."

Cursing, the two teachers quickly started out of the dungeons, praying they would make it back in time.

-

"I was never taught how to deal with something six feet taller than I am, but I bet your knees are just as weak as a person's are." Harry said to himself and the troll. Getting into a fighting stance, Harry quickly moved at the troll.

Ron was flabbergasted. _He's going to kill himself_. But he stood there, waiting for his chance to grab Hermione.

Harry ran up to the troll, and quickly went around it, kicking at the back of its knee. It's leg bent slightly, and the troll roared. It spun around, swinging the giant club in its hand at Harry. Dropping to the floor to dodge, Harry was cursing to himself. "That hurt. He's built a lot tougher than even Sensei's mannequins are."

Harry was forced to do more dodging than attacking at the troll, as he jumped back so as not to be hit by the club. Moving the Chi channeled into his hands into his legs, Harry managed to double the energy he put into the next kick, which was aimed at the troll's ankle.

The troll hollered, and lifted its foot up. Harry hadn't come out of that attack unscathed either. Hobbling back, he cursed. "Stupid bloody troll! I kick it and nearly break my own foot."

He looked over to Ron, who hadn't managed to get Hermione out yet. "Hey! Wanna try something? Anything?" Harry jumped out of the way of an overhand swing of the club, rolling into a wall.

Ron looked at him, and then at the troll. "Um…"

Cursing, Harry managed to get back on his feet, dodging out of the troll's way again, but missed his footing and fell to the floor. A evil glee appeared in the troll's eyes, as the club came up for a huge overhand smash.

Ron's eyes widened as he stared. "Merlin save us!" He whispered. "Uh, umm, _Wingardium Leviosa!_" Ron quickly flicked his wand at the troll as its hands came back down. Empty.

The troll looked up, and frowned at the club hanging in midair. It growled at it.

Quickly tiring, Ron dropped the club, where it promptly fell on the troll's head with a crack, and knocked it out cold. It fell forward, and Harry was forced to roll to the side so he wouldn't be crushed.

"Bloody hell, remind me never to do that again." Harry panted.

"What in Merlin's name?" a voice came from the entrance to the bathroom.

All three students turned to find two of their teachers standing at the door. It had been McGonagall who had spoken.

Harry opened his mouth to speak, but then shut it at the fierce look from Professor Maison.

"Well?" McGonagall asked.

"It was all my fault, Professor. I'd read about trolls in the library and thought I knew enough to stop one. Harry and Ron tried to stop me, but I kept going. They were trying to rescue me." Hermione said.

Ron and Harry looked at her, dumbfounded. Had Hermione just lied to a teacher to protect them?

McGonagall gave a disapproving stare at Hermione. "Five points from Gryffindor then. Are you hurt?" Hermione shook her head. "Then go ahead and go up to the common room. The feast is going on there still." Hermione nodded and quickly made her way out of the room.

McGonagall turned to Harry and Ron. "And as for you two. Reckless, that's what it is, I tell you. But still, you showed quite a bit of bravery to protect your friend. Five points to Gryffindor each. For sheer dumb luck, I think. Go on, get back to the common room." She turned and left.

Professor Maison stepped back, and followed the boys out. "Mr. Potter, you will be giving me the real story, tomorrow during your lesson. Even if Professor McGonagall accepted that story, I know you had more of a hand in this than what Miss Granger said. I sensed it."

Harry nodded. "Yes Professor." Maison nodded back, and walked off back to his own office.

Ron turned to look at Harry. "Lesson? What lesson? And on a Saturday? Are you barmy, taking a class on a Saturday?"

Harry laughed. "It's a Muggle Martial Arts class. He's continuing my classes from before Hogwarts."

Once they reached the Fat Lady's portrait, they found Hermione standing outside of it, waiting for them.

"Thanks." She simply said.

Harry and Ron nodded.

She looked at Harry. "But you're going to explain exactly how you managed to hurt that troll."

Harry laughed. "You can come with me to Professor Maison's class tomorrow then, along with Ron."

Harry gave the Fat Lady the password, and all three went into the common room as friends, ready to resume their feast.

* * *

There ya go, kinda short, but it was a good ending place. Next chapter, opens his copy of SS, Quidditch! Among other things. 

Oh, and don't knock me on the timing of certain events, as I like them in the order they're in. They make more sense to my addled brain. :D

**Raistin the unforgiven:** You mean I've actually got something right with the Chi thing? Wow, I think I've been pulling 99 of that out of my HHHH thin air. The other 1 is from random tidbits I don't know where I've picked up.

**Saetan:** I think you'd enjoy my side story. Depending on where I take this, it may end up being required reading. grin

All the rest of you reviewers I've already talked to, so no props for you in the story itself. :D

Thanks to Dr. Gero for beta'ing.

Also, long before this chapter was written, I had an interesting idea out for Flitwick's class. Unfortunately, my beta beat me about the head with a calendar, saying Harry couldn't be passed out the night of Halloween. Grin Oh well, I'll let you see what it was in it's original form.

"_Wingardium Leviosa."_ Harry intoned, forcing all of his Chi through his wand at the feather. In the classroom above, Professor Maison started feeling the enormous amount of Chi in the class below him. Realizing Harry was in the Charms classroom below, he dove out of his chair as a feather flew through the stone floor and embedded itself in the ceiling above him.

**_Beta Note: I thought it would be interesting to note, that 'Boarhound' is actually just another name for a Great Dane. The movie version of Fang is wrongly played by a Neapolitan Mastiff._**


	13. Chapter 12

Clay Pinions

By Lochar

A/N: I got about 6k words into Nine Months, then my inspiration died. So, I'm writing more of this, and I'll write on that when inspiration dies on this one.

Disclaimer: Do I have to actually say it? lawyers nod Alright, alright. Harry Potter, his friends, JK's storyline, and whatnot don't belong to me. Xenogears doesn't belong to me. It belongs to those nice people over at Square-Enix.

Chapter 12

* * *

Harry woke up early the next morning, and was quickly out of bed. Looking over at Ron, he laughed slightly. Ron was hanging half out of his bed, and seemed to be using his footboard as a pillow.

Harry poked him. "Ron, if you want to come to my lesson, you have to wake up now." Ron groaned, and just curled up into a ball.

An evil grin crossed Harry's face and he quietly said, "Ron, the Chudley Cannons just won a Quidditch match."

Ron jumped. "Cool! Who were they playing?" He then looked around. "No fair Harry-" His yawn interrupted him. "I'm still tired. Why in the world did you want to get up this early in the day for?" He stretched.

"Well, you wanted to go to my lesson and it's in thirty minutes; so I figured you'd need at least that much time to wake up." Harry opened his trunk at the foot of his bed, pulling out his training clothes. "So did you want to come or not?"

"Alright, alright. I wanna come. You, just, _YAWN_, couldn't do it at a different time?" Ron complained, as he slowly put his robes on.

"It's Professor Maison's choice on time." Harry pulled on his clothes. "Come on, I told Hermione last night, so she's probably going to be waiting for us here soon."

Harry walked out of the dorm room and downstairs, Ron yawning and stumbling behind him. Once they got downstairs, they did find Hermione sitting in one of the chairs, but she was asleep.

Shaking her shoulder, Harry grinned. "Hermione, you asleep too?"

Hermione blinked her eyes open and yawned while saying, "Some people prefer to sleep at six in the morning on the weekends Harry."

"Then sleep. I'm not forcing you to come."

"But I want to know how you hurt that troll. You shouldn't have been able to hurt it. I even remember Ron throwing things at it and it didn't hurt it!"

"You'll get the answer from Professor Maison then. Come on, I don't want to be late. I'm supposed to be getting off of punishment with him pretty soon. Maybe even today."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The three quickly reached the Muggle Studies classroom. Instead of student desks and a teacher's desk, the whole room had been cleared and mats had been laid out. Professor Maison was already there, going through a form to warm up.

"Good morning Professor." Harry said. "Is it alright if Ron and Hermione watch?"

Maison turned to him. "I don't mind." He looked at Ron and Hermione. "Will you two keep quiet?"

They both nodded, but Hermione had to ask a question first. "How was Harry able to hurt that Troll last night? They are supposed to be too tough to actually be able to be harm without magic."

Maison looked at Harry. "I was right then, there was more to the story than any of you told your Head of House?" They all nodded.

Maison thought for a moment, then answered. "Miss Granger, what Harry was using last night was called, Chi. It is a term for your body's life energy. It can be used for various things, including the ability to enhance yourself, as well as self-healing."

Hermione looked thoughtful, as Ron spoke up. "Umm, could I learn some of this, Professor? It sounds like lots of fun."

Maison turned to him and gave him a slightly sad look. "It is more hard work than fun, but unfortunately, once a wizard gets their wand, it seems to seal their ability to learn to use their Chi effectively. It took me almost fifteen years to be able to use what little Chi I am able to. Harry started several years before he was introduced to the Wizarding World, so his Chi was already active and wasn't sealed when he got his wand." He sent Harry a look at this, as if to say, _Don't tell them about using your Chi in your wand._ "Do either of you really want to spend ten or fifteen years working to access your Chi, with only very small rewards at the end?"

Ron shook his head, along with Hermione. "I didn't think so. But you may stay, so do please be quiet." Turning to Harry who had been warming up during Maison's explanation, he kept going. "Alright, Mr. Potter." Harry stopped his warm up and turned. "I think you've went long enough without learning anything new, so today we'll start a new lesson." Harry's eyes brightened. "Of course, this will be an extremely difficult lesson. Since you fought that Troll last night, I figured I might as well teach you how to actually hurt something like that next time."

Harry nodded. "What do you want me to do Professor?"

"I'm going to teach you a little bit about hitting with your Chi, from a punch or kick." Maison got into a stance. "Follow me, if you would." Harry copied the stance, waiting for Maison to continue. "When you were fighting, what parts of the Troll's body did you go for?"

"I went for the back of its knees first, and then I tried to take out its ankle. It _really_ stung when I hit the ankle."

"So you went for mainly kicks?" Maison asked, and received a nod in response. "Alright then. When you channel your Chi, and you throw a kick, the Chi increases the strength of the kick, right?" Harry nodded. "What you need to learn to be able to do is to push some of that Chi out at the moment of the hit, at your target." Harry felt Maison channel a little bit of Chi into his foot as he executed a front kick. He could even sense a little bit of it leave him at the peak of the kick. "If you do that, you can cause a bit more damage, at the cost of weakening your next attack unless you channel even more Chi. It's a fine balance between attack and defense."

Harry nodded. "Why is this hard then?"

"Because your Chi isn't infinite. Against an opponent that also uses it to block, it can be a wasted effort, and then you have lost the Chi you used. And you know that it takes time and rest to regain the lost energy. And learning to push the Chi at the right time against an opponent, or even at the right moment in your strike. Push too early or too late, and the attack goes unused and wasted." Maison got ready to start a form. "Follow my lead, and when I push my Chi, you push it at the same time."

As Maison began, Harry followed his moves closely. It was a familiar form, one of the first Tai Chi forms that Harry had learned. Channeling his Chi into his extremities, Harry was ready. The first few moves were normal, but all of a sudden, a roundhouse seemed to leave a trail of Chi in the air to Harry's senses. Following suit, Harry pushed his Chi as he went through the roundhouse, only to lose his balance and fall down as he lost concentration on the kick while attempting to use his Chi.

Maison stopped. "I pretty much expected that. Do you know why you fell?"

"I tried to copy how you were leaving your Chi in the air, but when I pushed at my Chi, I lost my footing."

"You must be able to channel your Chi out of your body and into the attacks. You cannot lose your concentration either." Maison replied.

Harry grimaced. "Yeah, but I tried to split my concentration between the two. It didn't work."

"Try again then. I'll watch and try to point you in the right direction." Maison backed up. _Not to mention I can't keep showing you the same move over and over again. I don't have the reserves you have Harry._

Starting the form again, Harry made it to the roundhouse with no effort. Concentrating harder on the kick this time, he couldn't get his Chi to push out beyond the strike of his foot. Stopping the form, he got back into the ready position. "I'm going to get this." Again trying, he let himself flow through the moves, just quickly moving through them on autopilot. Getting to the roundhouse, he started pushing his Chi, and almost had it when he foot was caught.

Glancing up, he was surprised to see Maison holding his ankle. "You cannot give up all your concentration on the move either. Otherwise, what good is it to be able to channel your Chi into an attack if it is so easily stopped?"

He growled. "Then what am I supposed to do?" Maison smiled. "Keep practicing. You'll pick it up."

Harry spent the next thirty minutes going through various levels of splitting his concentration between kicking and pushing his Chi. But unfortunately, he also spent most of that thirty minutes somehow tripping himself and ending on the floor.

Ron laughed, and Harry turned to him. "Funny, is it?"

He got a nod in return. "Kinda mate. You keep tripping yourself up. You were a heck of a lot better last night."

"I wasn't trying to do something new last night either." Harry turned back to trying the kick again.

Ron opened his mouth to speak again, but Maison cut him off. "Mr. Weasley, you did promise to be quiet. If you do not have something helpful to say, either be quiet or leave. Breakfast will be served in about fifteen minutes anyways."

Ron smiled at that. "I think I'll go get some food. I can come back, right?" Maison nodded. "Alright then, I'll be back after breakfast. You coming Hermione?" He asked her.

Hermione shook her head. "This is interesting to watch, even if I won't ever be able to do it."

Ron shrugged. "Alright, your choice." He left, leaving Hermione as the only watcher.

Maison turned to Harry, as he again tried and failed to push his Chi into the attack. "Mr. Potter, are you still trying to split your concentration between the two?" Harry nodded. "Since it doesn't seem to be working for you, maybe you should quit trying to split it then?"

"What do you mean Professor?"

"That is my way of doing it, but for you it may be easier to use another method." Maison explained. "Could you not extend your move to include the Chi?"

Harry thought about it. "Kinda like how Sensei made us relearn each move, but channeling our Chi while doing the moves?" Maison nodded. "Could you do the kick again then, one more time? I wanna watch real close on how you do it."

Maison complied, and Harry watched closely as to how it had been done. Nodding to himself, Harry got into a ready position. Moving through the form, Harry again tried the roundhouse. As his foot swept through the air, he pushed at the Chi already there. Completing the kick, he turned and looked to Professor Maison.

"Not bad. You have the idea down now, but you still didn't push enough Chi into the kick to have made a significant difference from what you have already been doing. We'll have to work on it some more."

And with Hermione quietly watching and Ron eventually wandering back it, Harry and Professor Maison worked through the morning, attempting to have him learn this lesson. By eleven, Harry was tired, hungry, and thoroughly aggravated with the whole thing.

"Why can't I get this right?" Harry asked aloud, throwing another roundhouse kick into the air. To Maison's eyes, Harry's Chi still barely left the kick.

Maison sighed. "Mr. Potter, I'd have expected you to at least have the basics down. Most of the students I've ever worked with have the problem of pushing almost all of their energy out, and they need to learn to control how much they push. You on the other hand, barely push anything out. Any ideas why?"

Harry turned to him and shrugged. "I don't know Professor."

"We'll have to take this up again next then. I've got other things I need to do today, and I believe that Gryffindor has a Quidditch practice today, do they not?" Maison looked to Harry.

"Yeah, we do. It's in a couple of hours. Alright then." Harry moved to leave, and then stopped. "Am I allowed to practice this without having you around to watch Professor?"

"Go ahead, but do be careful. If you manage to do the attack correctly, please do not do it anymore though. I would like to make sure you have it completely correct before you get into any bad habits with it."

Harry nodded, and the three left.

"I'm going to go get some lunch mate, I'm starving!" Ron told Harry. Hermione nodded as well. "I didn't get breakfast, so I'm going to go eat as well."

"Okay, I'll be down in a bit too, I just want to go take another shower."

The trio split up, Ron and Hermione going to the Great Hall for lunch, with Harry going up to the dorms.

After showering, Harry quickly joined his friends for lunch. Grabbing a plate of food, he looked to them. They seemed to be arguing. "What's up?"

Ron turned to him. "I'm trying to explain to her exactly why Quidditch is so great. She's not believing a single word of it."

"What's so great about it? It's dangerous, silly, and takes away from academic study time." Hermione glared back at Ron.

Harry sighed. "Hermione. I _am_ on the Quidditch team, and I don't think it's silly. And no one here gets hurt so badly that Madam Pomfrey can't heal them quickly."

"It still takes away from your time to study. Grades are more important than a silly game."

Ron turned slightly red. "It's not a silly game, and we don't have to study every minute of the day!"

They walked outside, still arguing over the game. Harry followed, adding an occasional comment defending Ron.

Once there were outside, they all sat around a tree, talking. The argument had finally stopped, but most likely only to be picked up later.

"Oh Harry Potter!"

"The Great Boy-"

"Who-Lived!"

Ron groaned, noticing his twin brothers sitting up in the tree. "Great, you two." He looked at Harry. "Don't take anything they offer you, and don't touch anything after they have." Harry looked puzzled. "They play pranks on everyone."

Harry grinned. "Ah." He looked up into the tree at them. "And are you plotting against us?"

The twins grinned back. "Oh no, why ever would we do that?" One said. Harry thought it might be Fred. "At least not right now, since you know we're here." The other said.

"Hey, you weren't supposed to tell them that." Fred hit his brother upside the head.

"Oops, sorry. Um, forget we said that, would you?" George asked.

"'We'! You're the one who said it, brother mine!"

"Don't we always do things as a pair though?"

"Not when you're going around warning people! Jeez!"

"I'm sorry. Will you ever forgive me, my brother?"

The twins hugged, and were pretended to sob hysterically. "Of course I will!"

They broke up quickly, and Fred looked towards the school. "Uh oh, grease alert. We have an incoming greasy git." He looked down to the trio. "One of you please throw me a pebble? And don't say anything to him about us." Harry quickly found a small rock and threw it up to them.

Snape was stalking towards them, limping slightly. "What are you three doing out here? First years are not allowed to be so far outside the school. Three points from Gryffindor a piece." The pebble flew behind Snape, who was still glaring at them. He turned and walked away, leaving them still sitting there.

"Those two are right, 'greasy git' indeed. Takes points, and then doesn't make us move? That's not a rule, he was just looking for an excuse to…" Ron stopped speaking, as a huge gust of wind had come up from the ground, causing Snape's robes to billow out, and up. All three laughed, but Harry's eyes widened at the sight of bloody bandages completely covering one of his legs. Snape pushed down his robes, and turned towards them.

"Five more points!" He glared, and then walked off limping again. "Bloody brats, don't follow the rules." He audibly muttered. As he walked off he stumbled a little, and Snape cast his eyes to the sky. "And that bloody dog. Too many damned heads!" He stopped short, then turned to the three, frowning. He seemed to be looking for a reaction from them, but all three were still snickering because of his robes. "Two more points for disrespecting for a Professor." He said louder so they could hear.

Harry got quiet. "Yes Instructor Snape." Snape glared at them one last time, then went back into the castle, robes flowing behind him.

The twins dropped down out of the tree. "Thanks Harry, Ronnikens. Always a pleasure to mess with the git. Ancient Runes actually comes in handy." He looked at Harry. "Although, why'd you agree with him?"

"Yeah, but you didn't lose the points, we did." Ron grumbled. Hermione nodded her agreement, but both were ignored.

"It's something my Sensei from back home told me. Before I knew all the teachers here were called Professor, I asked him why Professor Maison wanted to be called Professor. He told me that a Professor actually teaches and tries to help you, and if I called him an Instructor, I would be saying that all he could do was give me instructions and no extra help. It would be like trying to learn from a book." Harry explained.

Ron and the twins laughed while Hermione glared at him. "That's no way to talk about a Professor."

Harry looked at her. "He hasn't taught us anything yet. He puts instructions on the board, and then glares at us for the rest of the class-time."

The twins grinned. "Alright, you three have fun, we're going to cause some havoc inside." They walked back into the castle, laughing.

Harry laughed at them, then turned to Hermione and Ron, his face serious. "Did you guys see his leg? And hear what he said about a dog?" Harry asked. "Could it have been that dog in the third floor corridor? And it bit him?"

Ron agreed. "Yeah! But what was he trying to get at that's in there? What's that dog guarding?"

"He is a Professor you two. Professor Snape would never do something like that. Whatever that dog is guarding, Professor Snape wouldn't be trying to steal it." Hermione lectured the two of them.

"But he was complaining about a dog with a bunch of heads! It's not like there's more than one of those around here, is there?" Ron asked.

"Ron, he wouldn't."

Harry tuned the two of them out, as he considered both the practice that afternoon, and their first Quidditch match the next week.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The day of Harry's first Quidditch match dawned bright and clear, with a crisp cold feeling to the air.

At breakfast, Harry looked out over the food and felt his stomach lurch. "You know, I don't think I'm all that hungry."

Ron put down his fork. "Are you crazy? You're not hungry? Harry, mate, if you don't eat, you'll end up sick out there."

Hermione nodded. "Eat a little something. You might faint while you're up there if you don't."

Nodding, Harry sat down. Grabbing some toast, he nibbled on it. It tasted like cardboard to him. Ron pushed a plate of eggs at him. "C'mon, eat." Harry sighed and took a bite of the eggs. They weren't much better either. Managing to get another couple bites down, he stood up. "I'm not going to be able to eat anymore. I might throw up now if I do."

Ron and Hermione nodded. "We'll be in the stands, cheering you on." Ron said. Hermione nodded her agreement. "Even if I do think it's a waste of time, at least you'll be having a good time." She told him.

Harry grinned weakly. "Alright, I'll see you guys out there." He left the Great Hall, headed out the main doors, over the grounds, and into the Gryffindor changing rooms.

-

Once he had changed into the Gryffindor uniform, Oliver gathered them together. "Alright men-"

"And women." One of the female chasers added.

"And women," Oliver nodded at her. "This is it."

"The big one-" One of the twins said.

"The one we've all been waiting for." The other said, then leaned over to Harry. "We were on the team last year. We've got Oliver's speech memorized." He stage whispered to Harry.

Oliver gave them the evil eye, but laughed. "Alright then, get out there and win." He looked at Harry. "Oh, and Potter?" Harry looked at him. "Get the Snitch. No matter what." Harry grinned and nodded.

They all flew out of the changing room to the voice of Lee Jordan, a friend of the twins, who was doing the announcements.

"Here they come, the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Lead by their captain and Keeper, Wood! The Weasley twins playing Beaters -or Bludgers, depending on what mood they're in-"

"Mr. Jordan!" came Professor McGonagall's voice magically augmented as well.

"Alright, alright. Following are the three Chasers, the ladies Bell, Johnson, and Spinnet. All great looking ladies, ready and raring to go."

Harry was the last to come out, and when he did, Lee seemed to have already made up his mind about what he was going to say. "And Gryffindor Seeker, first year Harry Potter! Youngest Seeker in a century!

"And for the Slytherins, they are lead by Flint, followed by Pucey and the rest of Flint's cronies with Higgs playing as Seeker."

"Mr. Jordan, kindly keep your opinions to yourself." McGonagall warned him.

"Yes Professor." Lee didn't sound all that apologetic though.

Madam Hooch was at the center of the field, where the two Captains were hovering on their brooms. "Now, I want a good, _clean,_" she seemed to stress the word while staring at Flint, "game. Players, to your positions." Oliver flew back to the goal posts, while Flint stayed close by with the other Chasers, waiting for the Quaffle to be released.

Madam Hooch tossed the Quaffle up into the air, and the Chasers on both sides raced to it.

Lee started commenting. "And Slytherin gets the Quaffle. Pass to Flint, who drives straight towards the Gryffindor goals. Passes back to Montague, who passes again to Flint, but no! Katie Bell intercepts and dazzles the Slytherins with her flying, leaving them behind.

"She passes back to Angelina Johnson, probably the best looking girl out there, good Chaser too."

"Mr. Jordan! Keep your mind on the game." McGonagall's voice said in a huff.

"Right Professor. Johnson passes to Alicia Spinnet, first time on the field not as a reserve player. Spinnet shoots, she scores! 10-0 Gryffindor."

Lee kept talking, but Harry tuned him out, looking for the Snitch. Concentrating, Harry floated a little higher into the air, to get a better view of the field. He saw Ron and Hermione, sitting in the stands waving to him. Somehow, they had managed to either find or make a huge sign that read, "Go Potter!" Smiling and waving quickly, Harry turned his attention back to the field.

Just in time, as a Bludger came flying up at him, and he barely managed to dodged. One of the twins, it looked to be Fred, flew up and knocked the Bludger back at one of the Slytherin Chasers. "You ok Harry? Don't space out on us, that's the easy way to end the match. For a Slytherin win."

Harry nodded. "I'm fine." Fred nodded and flew back down, seemingly throwing himself at a Bludger.

Looking around again, Harry made sure he kept an eye out for the Bludgers. _This is driving me nuts. One tiny little ball out there, and this is a huge field!_ Slowly starting to circle the field, he paused. _Wait a second, was that… It was!_ Diving, Harry flew after the little golden ball, with the Slytherin Seeker Higgs right behind him.

_Come on broom._ Moving as quickly as he could on the Nimbus, Harry zeroed in on the Snitch. The first hint of something wrong was when Flint slammed into him, throwing him widely off-course and spinning out of control.

Parts of the Gryffindor crowd gasped and Hermione and Ron both stared. Dean Thomas, who was sitting next to them was screaming, "Foul, foul! Kick the guy out of the game ref!" Ron looked at him. "What do you mean?" Dean looked at him. "You commit an obvious foul, and you're kicked out of the game, right?" Ron shook his head in the negative.

"They really oughta, he coulda been hurt!" A loud voice said from behind them.

They all jumped and turned. "Hagrid! Glad you could make it!" Ron said. He scooted over, leaving enough room between him and Dean for Hagrid to sit down.

"Harry's managed to get himself sorted out." Hermione said, as they turned back to the game.

"And in an obvious attempt to keep Gryffindor from winning, Chaser Flint nearly knocks Potter out of the air." Lee was saying.

"Mr. Jordan…" McGonagall's voice carried a hint of warning.

"Okay… Chaser Flint blindsides Potter in a malicious attempt at putting out the Gryffindor Seeker." Lee tried again.

"MR. JORDAN." There was no hint this time; McGonagall's voice was hard.

"Alright, alright! In a single move, Flint manages to keep Gryffindor Seeker Harry Potter from getting the snitch in a move that was not quite legal. Better?" Lee asked.

"Somewhat." Came McGonagall's sighed voice.

Madam Hooch had given Gryffindor a free shot at the Slytherin goals, which was easily made, but in the ruckus, the Snitch had managed to disappear again.

Groaning, Harry flew up high to look for the Snitch again. After a few minutes, his broom starting moving on its own. _What in the world?_ Harry grabbed on tighter to the broom, and envisioned the Void again. The echo of the broom he was riding again seemed to be slightly connected to his magic, but there were also two other strands attacking the echo as well. _What in bloody blue blazes?_ The two other connections broke the tentative connection he had with the broom, and it started bucking even more wildly.

In the stands, Ron was shielding his eyes staring at Harry. "Hey, what's up with Harry?" Grabbing the binoculars from Hermione, he took a look up at him. "Bloody hell. His broom is going crazy! Was it Flint's hit that's causing it?"

Hagrid looked up. "That's jus' not possible. No student should be able ta do anythin' to that broom. It'd take powerful Dark Magic to do somethin' to a Nimbus."

Hermione grabbed the binoculars back, but instead of looking at Harry, started scanning the crowds.

Up in the air, Harry had given up trying to regain physical control of his broom, and was now just attempting to keep a hold of the broom as he worked in the Void. Grabbing his magic, he channeled it at the echo of the broom. He forced it to reconnect to the broom, and the broom slowed down slightly.

"Look there!" Hermione said, handing the binoculars over to Ron. "Professor Snape! He's jinxing Harry's broom."

Ron looked closely at Snape. Indeed, Snape was speaking quickly under his breath. As Ron watched, Snape seemed to double the speed at which he was mumbling. "Bloody hell. He's trying to kill him!"

Hagrid shook his head. "No Professor would do sumthin' like that to a student."

"Either way, we've got to stop him." Hermione said. She quickly stood up. She and Ron made their way over to the teacher's box.

_Damn it, I don't have the magic to channel at the broom to stop whatever this is completely. I'm going to get into SOO much trouble with Professor Maison._ Dropping his magic, Harry reached into his Void. Channeling his Chi as fast as he could into the echo, he slowly overwhelmed the two connections interfering with his broom.

As Hermione came up under the teacher's box, she heard Snape growl and start whispering even faster. Looking up, she noticed Harry's broom was slowly coming under control. "Huh? What in the world?" Shaking her head, she looked at Snape. "Doesn't matter." Creating a bluebell flame, she touched it to Snape's robes. It took him a moment to notice, but once he did, he stopped mumbling and started cursing and flailing about, knocking into just about everyone in the teacher's box.

The extra connections into his broom disappeared, but Harry couldn't react fast enough. Still channeling his Chi into the broom, there was no more resistance to him. His Chi filled the broom, and like with his original wand before, Harry felt something inside the broom twist. Fortunately, the broom was built sturdier than a wand and didn't destroy itself. Unfortunately, the overload of Chi managed to disable the magic in the broom, including the flight charms.

Harry started plummeting towards the ground, his voice echoing throughout the stadium. "SON OF AAAA…"

Hitting the ground after the forty-foot fall, Harry managed to roll with the fall and come up standing. Feeling something moving underneath the Quidditch robes, Harry pulled the Snitch out from inside of them. Holding it up, he waved it to the crowd, before falling over.

* * *

Ladies and Gentleman, thank you, and have a good night. This chapter is officially done. Read and review!

**Evil Manic**: There is no way Harry's getting Xenogears. Even I'm not that crazy. How would you hide a mech. Even the wizards would wonder what it was. And god save us all if Arthur Weasley got a hold of it. grin

**Bob the Almighty**: I'm trying to move a bit away from canon, but the first year is going to be somewhat the same. I'll keep it in mind though. I'm trying to work some differences into it.

Thanks to all the other reviewers as well! You guys make my day!

As always, props to Dr. Gero for beta'ing this for me.


	14. Chapter 13

Clay Pinions

By Lochar

Disclaimer: Not mine, if I had it, I'd be rich.

A/N: To steal from another writer. Feedback: It's the coin of the realm :D

Chapter 13

* * *

He was sitting there, at the edge of the lake. Someone was sitting beside him, but he wasn't quite sure who it was, although he was sure he knew the person.

"You know, you're going to drive all of us nutty if you keep doing this." They said.

"I'm sorry. It wasn't my fault this time though; the broom was going crazy." Harry defended himself.

The person leaned their head up against him. "There was already someone attempting to take care of that for you. But oh well, I guess it all turned out right in the end. Gryffindor did win, right?" The voice asked impishly.

Harry laughed. "Yes, we won."

"Good." A fog seemed to be rolling up over the lake. "Looks like it's about time to go." The person hugged Harry quickly, and got up. Starting to walk off, Harry turned to face them as they left. It was a red-haired girl, about his age.

Startled, Harry shouted out, "Elly!"

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"Elly!"

Harry quickly sat up in the bed. Bleary eyed, he fumbled for his glasses, managing to find them on the bedside stand. Pushing them onto his face, he looked around. "Where'd she go?"

"Where'd who go?" a voice said from the other side of the room.

Harry turned and saw Ron standing in the doorway to the Hospital Wing. "Elly… I don't know. Was it a dream?" Ron gave him a funny look. "Never mind. We did win the match, right?"

Ron's face lit up. "Of course we did! What a way to catch the Snitch too!" Ron bounded over to the chair next to Harry's bed. "170 to 50! And forty of those Slytherin points were while you were falling, and Oliver was watching you!"

Harry grinned. "That's great. Am I going to be allowed out of here?"

Ron shrugged. "I dunno. It's up to Madam Pomfrey."

"Would you go get her?" Harry asked.

"Sure." Ron walked into a different part of the wing, looking for Madam Pomfrey, leaving Harry alone to think. _Who in the world… She was familiar, but I can't remember where._

His musings were interrupted by the return of Ron with Madam Pomfrey. Harry looked hopefully at her. "I can leave now, right?"

Pomfrey looked at him. Pulling out her wand and waving it at Harry, she clucked at the response she received. "Very well, Mr. Potter. Do try to not get yourself harmed again; I'd rather not have you visiting me for a third time."

Harry grinned and jumped out of the bed. "Come on Ron, let's get out of here then."

Halfway back to Gryffindor tower, Harry stopped and looked at Ron. "Where's my broom, anyways?"

Ron looked down. "Um, Professor Flitwick has it; they're testing it for what happened. Hagrid said that only Dark Magic could have done that to your broom."

"Do ya think he'll let me get it back?"

"It's worth a shot." Ron replied. "Hermione will want to come as well though, let's grab her real quick."

Quickly, the two boys ran the rest of the way to the tower, collecting Hermione.

"I don't know why you two are so insistent on bringing me with you. It's not like it takes three people to carry a broom back to the dorms." Hermione complained.

Ron grinned at her. "But don't you want to know if it was Dark Magic that messed with Harry's broom? You know what Hagrid said. And you were the one that burned Snape's robes, remember?"

Harry's jaw dropped. "Hermione? You actually burned his robes?" He laughed as she blushed. "Good job!"

"He was muttering and casting something at your broom. He wouldn't break eye contact." Hermione paused for a moment. "Although, he did start speaking faster and your broom starting coming under control."

Harry shook his head. "I was forcing the broom to stop. When you did that to Snape, I didn't have a chance to quit channeling my Chi into the broom. Then I fell."

Hermione paled. "You mean it was my fault you got hurt?"

"No. It wasn't your fault Hermione. You helped me; I just wasn't fast enough to react. Snape's the greasy git that's the problem." Harry said.

Their conversation was stalled by them reaching the Charms classroom, where they could hear Flitwick inside.

"Very interesting, very interesting. I wonder how this happened?" His voice was heard from behind the door.

Knocking, the trio heard Flitwick's voice again. "Oh, come in. Come in. Can't bother with opening the door. Too fascinating."

Grinning, the three opened the door to find the tiny professor pacing around the broom.

"Hi Professor Flitwick. Can I have my broom back, or are you still checking it for Dark Magic?" Harry asked.

Hermione looked at him. "Awfully blunt." She quietly whispered.

Flitwick looked up. "Hmm? No real traces of Dark Magic on it, thank goodness. But I can't figure out what happened to your broom either. Right now, all it's good for is sweeping the floors."

Harry's eyes bulged. "What? What happened to it?" _I'm going to hurt Snape if he did something to my broom…_

"All of the Charms on the broom: Braking, Flight, Control, Comfort, seem to be hollow, as if they're not quite cast into the broom. And to top it off, I can't remove them and recast them, as there is some odd energy sealing the broom off from being affected by magic." Flitwick seemed puzzled, but happy. "It's quite the challenge to figure this one out."

Harry turned towards his broom. Concentrating, he could sense a layer of Chi wrapped around the broom. It was a familiar energy, and Harry realized it was his own. "Huh? I must have done that right before I fell." Harry said to himself as he kneeled down next to his broom. He looked to his Professor. "Could you fix it if that barrier wasn't there?"

Flitwick nodded. "I could. Do you know what it is?"

Harry sighed. "Yes, it's my Chi. I channeled it into my broom because of what was happening Professor. I guess I messed it up." Ron and Hermione were staring openly at him. Harry paid no attention as he sat cross-legged in front of his broom.

Picking up his broom, Harry entered the Void. He did not see the echo of the broom, or feel his magic reaching out towards it like usual. Frowning, he channeled his magic to where the echo usually appeared. The echo appeared, flashed, and then disappeared again. Harry opened his eyes to find a Professor and his two friends staring at him. Rubbing his eyes from the spots that were now appearing, he stared back.

"Magical backlash… How odd." Flitwick noted.

"Huh?" Both Ron and Harry eloquently asked.

"Honestly, you two," Hermione scolded, "Magical backlash is when a spell doesn't cast correctly; normally it happens when you use someone else's wand that is completely incompatible with you. The magical energy has nowhere to go and whips back into you. If you try to cast too large of a spell, it can seriously harm you."

Ron looked at Harry and grinned. "Harry, don't do whatever you did again. Madam Pomfrey said she didn't want you visiting for a third time, remember?"

Harry grimaced at the reminder. "Got it; no more magical backlashes." He grinned impudently at Hermione. "Alright?"

Hermione huffed. "Harry, it's serious. You could be really hurt."

Harry smiled at her, then closed his eyes again. Before tuning her out, he vaguely heard her warned, "Harry…"

Finding the Void again, Harry mentally peered at where the echo of the broom was supposed to be. _Fine, no magic. We know that doesn't work._ Channeling the smallest portion of his Chi he was able to, he pushed it at the broom. He was rewarded with a flash, and this time the broom's echo stayed. _Alright, now that I can see it…_ Opening his eyes, he felt the Chi still pooled in the broom handle.

"It's my Chi, I can use it…" Harry whispered to himself. Channeling his Chi through his hand, Harry wiped his hand across the long handle. A little bit of the Chi in the broom came off, and was absorbed back into the Chi that was in his hand. _Cool._ This time, Harry made a scooping motion over the broom, only channeling a slight bit of his Chi into his hand. He was rewarded with a lot more of the Chi coming off of the broom. Doing this several more times, he managed to remove all of his Chi from the broom.

Looking up, sweating, he saw Ron and Hermione staring at him. Flitwick even looked impressed.

"Thank you Mr. Potter. I'll get this fixed right now." Flitwick took the broom from him and put it on the floor between the two of them. Quickly stripping the broom of the broken Charms, and reapplying them. Finishing, he allowed Harry to pick the broom back up. "Enjoy Mr. Potter, and I hope to see you flying again soon."

Harry nodded. He had felt his magic reach out for the broom again, and the echo had appeared automatically. "Thank you Professor Flitwick."

As they walked out, Ron started talking. "I'm gonna see if Professor Maison will still let me join your sessions Harry. I wanna be able to do that."

"But Ron, Professor Maison said that it would take years to be able to do anything. Harry is only able to because he started before he got his wand." Hermione argued.

"So? It's still cool. And if nothing else, maybe I can learn to keep away from Trolls next time." Harry laughed as Hermione huffed.

The following week was filled with Ron and Hermione fighting over Professor Maison's sessions with Harry. Harry was amazed that Ron was actually the one wanting to learn something extra, with Hermione being the one to not want to do it.

As Hermione had put it, "If it takes fifteen years to learn the basics of it, we'd all die of old age before we learned anything useful from it!"

-

That weekend, Ron approached Maison about joining in on Harry's sessions.

Maison looked him over. "Hmm… I don't know. It's nothing against you Ron, but the training Harry is going through is much more advanced than the basics we'd have to start you out on." Ron slumped. "You'd have to give up your Sundays if you wanted to start training under me."

Ron winced.

Maison looked thoughtful for a moment. "There is another way…" Ron perked up at this. "Harry could always teach you in the evenings."

Harry spun around from where he was doing his warm up. "What! Excuse me?" Ron looked puzzled as well.

"One of the better ways for you to make sure you know and have learned the moves, is to teach them to someone else." Maison explained. "And it would not cut into any more of the weekend for the two of you."

Ron looked to Harry. "I don't mind if you don't Harry."

With a sigh, Harry nodded. "Alright, but would you please make sure that I'm teaching Ron correctly?"

Maison nodded. "I will. But today is your time Harry. It's been almost a month now, and you still haven't managed to extend your Chi into an attack."

They worked on that for the next hour, before Harry threw his hands up, frustrated. "I'm never going to be able to do this." He sighed.

Maison stopped as well. "Let's sit down and work through this then. Every time you execute the kick, what do you do when you push your Chi out?"

Harry sat down. "I go through the kick, and then channel some of the Chi outside of my foot."

Maison nodded. "That sounds about right. Anything else?"

Harry shook his head. "No, I go through with the kick, and then pull the Chi back."

Maison sighed. "All of the Chi Harry?" Harry nodded. "That's the problem Harry. We've spent four weeks going over this, and you have the move down. You have to let go of the Chi, allow it to push out in the attack."

"But that means I won't be able to reuse it." Harry complained.

Shaking his head, Maison laughed. "Harry, you've got plenty of Chi to use. Allowing a little bit out during the attack won't hurt you. It will help make your attack stronger. Push the Chi out beyond where you can pull it back."

Nodding both to himself and Maison, Harry got back in the ready position. He moved deliberately through the form. Moving into the kick, Harry released the control he had on the channeled Chi and pushed it outside his moving foot.

To Maison's eyes, the Chi that Harry had pooled in the kick finally released from Harry and swept through the air, leaving a slight glowing trail of energy that quickly faded. "Excellent." Maison smiled. "Very good Harry."

Harry sat down, panting. "I guess that was fun, at least it didn't take as much out of me as before."

Maison frowned. "As before? What do you mean?"

"I was able to throw Chi at my cousin, before I came here. I only did it once, but it made me tired for days after that. I guess that's why I didn't want to do it again." Harry looked up. "Why didn't this make me as tired?"

Maison thought for a moment, and then looked at Harry again. "Probably because you have learned more control, and you have more Chi to work with now. Your Chi, and your magic for that matter, is like a muscle. Work it, use it, and it will become stronger."

Hermione looked up at this and spoke for the first time since the lesson started. "Magic is like this as well?" she enquired.

"Yes, it is. That is one of the reasons the Headmaster is one of the most powerful wizards in the world. His long life using magic has increased his magical strength." Maison stopped, considering his next words. "That is why some of the older wizards are more powerful. Everyone has a limit though."

Maison abruptly changed the subject. "Alright Harry, let's work through the rest of your form, and use your Chi for each of the moves."

After several hours, Harry was exhausted, and stumbled up the stairs to the Gryffindor Tower. Once they were in, he collapsed into one of the overstuffed chairs near the fireplace.

"Good God," Harry sunk deeper into the cushions of the chair. "I don't think I could have done anymore of that tonight."

Ron laughed, and then pretended to be mad. "Hey… wait a second; you're supposed to start teaching me tonight!" Harry opened his eyes and stared at Ron with something akin to horror. Ron laughed at the look on his friend's face. "Just kidding mate, I wouldn't do that to you. Wanna play some Wizard's Chess instead?"

"What's Wizard's Chess?" Harry warily asked.

"Glad you asked. Hold on a sec." Ron ran up to his dorm, leaving Harry and Hermione sitting in front of the fireplace.

Harry looked over to Hermione. "Have any idea what it is?"

She shrugged. "I know what chess is of course, but the Wizarding version of it is something I haven't read about."

"We'll find out in a moment then, I guess." Harry said, as he heard Ron's footfalls on the stairs coming back down from their dorm.

Pulling another chair in front of Harry along with an end table, he opened up a regular chessboard between them. He then opened the bag he was carrying with him, pulling out two sets of worn chess figures. "Like everything else I get, they're used. But that's actually good; means they're really experienced." Placing them on the board, he poked them with his wand. The pieces seemed to yawn and look up at Ron. They then moved into their respective places.

Ron and Harry started playing, with both Ron and Hermione explaining the rules to him. Harry managed to lose several times in the first fifteen minutes before figuring out what he was doing wrong, coached by the pieces themselves. "Either I'm extremely bad, or you're extremely good Ron." Ron grinned. "And considering how badly I'm losing, I'm going to guess it's both."

"You're probably right Harry." Hermione said. "You've got the rules down, but you have to know the strategy for it." She sat on the arm of Harry's chair, and poked the pieces with her own wand. "Alright, back to your places. I want to try."

The pieces grumbled good-naturedly and returned to their position. Hermione managed to last several minutes more than Harry had, but was still defeated by Ron with relative ease.

"Good game Hermione." He stuck his hand over the board, which Hermione shook. "At least you're a decent challenge. We're going to both have to work on Harry here."

All three smiled and laughed.

-

In the weeks leading up to the Christmas holidays, Harry noticed the weather outside getting cooler -if the frosted windows and midnight Astronomy classes were anything to go by- and inside the school, places like the Great Hall and others started becoming more festive. A few colorful ribbons were strung up, some of the suits of armor were gleaming, and you might think you had heard a Christmas carol or two echoing inside of them.

Unfortunately, not everyone was in the Christmas spirit.

At lunchtime, about a week before Christmas, the trio found Hagrid trying to get a huge tree through the doors into the Great Hall. "Anything we can do to help?" Harry asked.

Hagrid turned slightly. "Hiya Harry! Hullo to you two as well." He grinned at Ron and Hermione. "If ya want ta, ya can. I can't get this durned thing into the Hall without those doors tryin' ta close on me. Hold 'em open, would ya?"

Harry and Ron nodded, leaning up against the doors to keep them from closing on Hagrid as he went through them.

"Ah, Weasel. Trying to earn a few coins by being an assistant Gamekeeper? Maybe so you can buy your Mudblood girlfriend a present?" A haughty voice was heard, as they saw Malfoy walk up. "Oh, and you've even got Potter in the game? As I doubt he needs money after his pathetic parents died, he must be willing to give you his share of the money as well. How charitable Potter."

The comment, whether or not calculated to enrage all three of the Gryffindors, did so regardless. Hermione and Harry glared at him as Ron pulled his wand. Harry grabbed his hand, keeping Ron from hexing him. Hagrid hadn't noticed as he'd been on the other side of the door, and got the tree in as the doors closed behind him.

"Malfoy, what an unpleasant thing to say." Harry's eyes narrowed. "Hagrid was having trouble, so we decided to be nice and help him. Something you could never be." Harry grinned slightly. "And besides, even if Ron was trying to be an assistant Gamekeeper, he'd at least have a job, unlike you ever would."

Malfoy's eyes narrowed to match Harry's, as his hand went into his robes for his wand.

Harry grinned. "Remember the rules I told you way back in the beginning of the year? Rule one."

Malfoy paled slightly, and removed his hand from his wand. He smirked at them.

"What is going on here? Ah… Mr. Potter, threatening another student are we? Fifteen points from Gryffindor. Five from each of you for ganging up on another student." Snape's voice drawled from behind them.

The trio spun around, wincing as two malicious grins surrounded them.

"But- But-" Ron started.

"Do you want me to take another five from you for back talking to a Professor?"

Ron shut his mouth.

"Get to lunch, all of you." Snape stared at them as they turned and nearly ran into the Great Hall to get away from him. Malfoy followed them at a leisurely pace, laughing at them. Harry and Ron glared at him, but couldn't do anything with Snape watching them.

-

That evening in the common room, Harry noticed a piece of paper being passed around. A few people were signing it, but most just passed it to the next person. It was eventually passed to Hermione, who read it quickly, then handed it to Ron. He looked it over for a moment, and then signed his name to it. He then passed it to Harry.

_Please sign below if you do not plan on leaving Hogwarts for the Christmas break._

All of the Weasleys had already signed, and Harry turned to Ron. "Why are you guys not going home?"

Ron shrugged. "Mum and Dad are going to visit Charlie out at the dragon reserve in Romania with my sister, so we're all stuck here for the holidays."

Harry nodded. "I'm staying too, so you'll have company at least." He signed his name on the paper, passing it to another person before turning back. "Now, let's see if I can at least last more than three minutes against you in chess Ron."

Ron laughed, and they all continued enjoying the night.

* * *

Done. Whee! Please take note, as I'm about to give a few **Spoilers** for the game Xenogears, in an effort to clear a few things up.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The gear Xenogears was created when Fei made contact with the Wave Existence. It transformed his gear Weltall into Xenogears, so there's no way I can give Harry Xenogears. Not like I'd want to anyways. Xenogears is way to overpowering. The Wave Existence was technically unlimited power, and I'd rather not put that in the hands of a child.

Although, yes Harry will be getting a staff, it will not be a Horcrux made staff. I wouldn't want to have another Grahf on my hands. The staff isn't going to show up until year 3 or 4 though.

There will be no Id. Id was a product of Fei's hellish childhood, and if you notice, I carefully didn't give Harry one, for that reason. No need for a little boy to crack and get MPD. A form of Id may make an appearance though.

For those of you who enjoyed the Quidditch game last chapter, I'm glad. Neither me nor my beta can write Quidditch worth a darn, so I'm glad you still liked it.

Dr. Gero beta'd as normal. Give him props, since he's the one keeping me straight.


	15. Chapter 14

**Clay Pinions**

**By Lochar**

Disclaimer: Would you be reading this on this particular site if I owned it?

Chapter 14

* * *

Harry and Ron sat on the steps into Hogwarts, waving goodbye to Hermione as the carriages left, taking most of the students with them.

Harry turned to Ron once Hermione was out of sight. "So, what are we going to do for the whole break?"

Ron grinned. "Anything we want. No classes and if we avoid him, no Snape. Come on, let's go find something to eat, it's lunchtime and I'm starving." Ron stood up and pulled Harry up with him. "Come on!"

Harry laughed as he followed Ron back indoors.

True to what Ron said, they avoided Snape for the next two days, doing nothing but playing Wizard's Chess in the common room, with Ron trying to guess what he might get for Christmas. Harry had managed to extend his time in the game to eleven moves, a new record for him. They also had to dodge Ron's bored older brothers, as the twins were always good for a prank if they could. Percy, unfortunately, was good for a scolding about studying to be ready for the next term.

By the night of Christmas Eve, both boys were ready for the next morning to come. Although, neither were able to sleep.

Sitting by the low fire in the common room, Harry leaned back on one of the soft, cushy couches. "You know what I want for Christmas Ron?"

"What?"

"Some decent chess skills." Both boys laughed. "But if I can't have that, this is pretty good anyways. It's nice to just be able to relax at Christmas for once."

"Huh?" Ron questioned, puzzled.

Harry shrugged in the dim light. "It's… tense… at home. My aunt likes me, but my uncle doesn't really. I'm quiet around the holidays, and he doesn't yell. It's not bad."

Ron looked at him sadly for a second before perking up. "Well, you're bound to have a good Christmas this year then. I'd hate to spend the holiday as a Muggle."

Yawning, Harry nodded and stood up. "Alright, I'm gonna go try to fall asleep then."

"Yeah, I'd better too. No presents if we stay up all night." Both boys walked back up to the dorms, where they laid down and were asleep soon after.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

THUMP

Harry started awake, only to find his head covered with a pillow. "Huh, whaza?" He sat up, looking around.

"C'mon! It's Christmas! We've got presents to open." Ron picked up a wrapped box from the foot of Harry's bed and threw it at him.

Not quite awake yet, the present bounced off Harry and landed in his lap. Rubbing his eyes, Harry grinned. "Cool, I've even got a few presents."

"Of course you do! What'd you expect for Christmas, coal?"

Harry smiled slightly and shook his head. Lifting the package in his lap and removing the twine, he opened the box to find a wooden flute, crudely crafted. Double-checking the tag, he saw it was from Hagrid. Blowing it, the flute made a sound vaguely like an owl.

"Hey, what's this? Muggle candy?" He heard Ron ask from his right. Harry looked up.

"Who's it from?"

"Hermione." Ron unwrapped the piece of chocolate and took a bite of it, and promptly spit it back into its wrapper. "Eww, nasty. How can you call this a sweet?"

Harry laughed as he opened his own package from Hermione and looked at it. "It's not quite candy Ron. Didn't Hermione say her parents were dentists?"

Ron nodded. "Yeah, whatever that is."

Harry shook his head. "It's a doctor who fixes teeth when they get messed up. She must have sent us some of her parents' candy. It's called sugar-free candy, and you now know just how bad the stuff tastes."

Ron looked at Harry. "Maybe we can give it to Hagrid? It'd probably go good with his rock cakes."

Harry laughed, and then picked up another package. "Hey Ron, this one is from your Mum."

Ron looked at it. "Yeah, last time I wrote her I said I didn't know if you'd be getting any presents from your Aunt and Uncle, since you weren't going back for the holiday. She probably sent you a Weasley jumper. She makes them for all of us every year."

Harry looked at his already almost completely diminished pile, and pulled one of the two remaining packages. "I think this is from my Aunt and Uncle." He pulled it open and a letter fell out, along with a fifty pence piece.

Ron looked at the coin. "Is that Muggle money?"

Harry laughed. "Yeah, go ahead and take it. I don't want it. It's not worth much in the Muggle world." He grabbed the letter and opened it.

_Boy,_

_Got your message. Here's your present. Be grateful._

_Your Uncle_

_P.s. Happy Christmas Harry, from Aunt Petunia and Dudley. (We added this after your uncle was finished with it)_

_P.ss. Harry, send me a letter or something. If it has to come by owl like this message did, try to get the owl to leave it in the tree out back. Dudley._

Harry grinned. "Looks like life as usual at home." Ron looked up with a question on his face. "My uncle still hates me, and my aunt has to be careful about being nice."

Harry picked up the last package. It was very light. "Wonder who this came from?" The tag didn't have a 'from' name on it.

Opening it up, he pulled a long, silvery cloak out of the wrapping paper. Ron stifled a gasp, and Harry looked at him. "What?"

With wide eyes, Ron spoke almost reverently, "If that's what I think it is… Put it on Harry." He urged. Harry shrugged, and pulled the cloak around him. "Blimey! It is. It's an invisibility cloak. Those things are really rare. Who gave that to you?"

Harry looked down, only to _not_ find his body. He pulled the cloak off, and both the cloak and his body reappeared. On the inside of it, there was a note pinned.

_Harry,_

_This belonged to your father, and was left in my safekeeping. I thought you might enjoy having it back. _

_Merry Christmas_

"No name, but they left a note." He handed it to Ron.

"That'll be fun to have, no matter who gave it to you." Harry grinned his agreement. "C'mon, let's go see what everyone else got."

Harry carefully folded the cloak and put it inside his trunk, locking it, and then stood up. Pulling his new emerald green jumper over his pajamas, he to Ron. "Alright, let's go."

Downstairs, the twins were found playing with the fire, wearing their own jumpers their mother had sent them.

They turned around to see the two first years coming down. "Alas, it is as we feared, brother mine." He pointed to Ron's shirt. "She fears us forgetting our names, while she is assured that the youngest of us will not."

Harry laughed. Fred and George's jumpers did have an F and a G on them. "I think she sent them so we'd have an easier time telling you two apart."

The one with the G nodded. "Of course! Now it all makes sense! You can now tell that I'm Forge and that one over there is Gred!"

Footfalls were heard on the dorm steps, as Percy came down the stairs holding his own jumper. "Would you two kindly be quiet? I'd like to enjoy the holiday, if you don't mind?"

"Of course not."

"But of course,"

"You have to enjoy-"

"The day with family."

The twins alternated saying, and then grabbed Percy. "Hey, look. He's even got a P for Prefect on his jumper!" They grabbed the sweater and pulled it over his head, trapping his arms at his sides. "Come on, we're going to breakfast. And you don't get to spend it with the other prefects."

Fred and George, -_or was it Forge and Gred?-_, marched Percy downstairs, Harry and Ron following and laughing the whole time.

Down in the Great Hall, a truly interesting sight was to be found. The Headmaster was sitting at his normal place, but with a giant Santa's hat on his head instead of the normal wizard's hat. Snape and Quirrell sat on his left, both looking quite surly and trying to fend off Dumbledore's attempts to have them wear the Santa caps as well.

Professor McGonagall sat on Dumbledore's right hand side, with a resigned look on her face. Harry discreetly pointed her out to Ron.

"I think she gave up arguing with the Headmaster."

Ron looked at the professor and almost couldn't stop himself from laughing. Instead of being a Santa, apparently the Headmaster had wanted her to play the part of Mrs. Santa. Her cap was like Dumbledore's, but didn't extend halfway down her back. Her robes were also a bright, cheery red color and she seemed to be wearing a white apron.

Fred and George sat Percy down at the table and then sat on either side of him. Harry and Ron took seats across from all three.

Dumbledore stopped trying to get his teachers to wear the hats to wave to the students that had come in, Harry and the Weasleys included. "Merry Christmas everyone! The Christmas Feast will be out all day, and will change to lunch about ten thirty." He then turned back to Snape, attempting to get him to put the hat on.

Along the tables, breakfast was laid out and the whole group dug in. Every few feet there were little crackers, which when pulled, shot out little presents.

Unlike the ones that his uncle allowed Dudley to play with, the presents inside these were better. George held one for Harry as he pulled the string on it, allowing a loud boom to come out of it as confetti was shot all over Percy, who it had been pointed at. Several white mice crawled out of the tube as well.

Ron and the rest of the group started picking up the crackers near them, and soon an impromptu war started.

By the time the war was over, Harry had managed to receive a new set of wizarding chess pieces, several pieces of wizarding candy, and one of the hats that the Headmaster had been trying to get Snape to wear.

Putting the hat on, Harry found out why Snape and Quirrell had been refusing them. Ron started laughing and pointing at him, so Harry looked down, only to see over the huge belly and Santa suit that he was now wearing. Grinning, Harry pulled the hat off his head and he returned to normal.

Harry stood up. "Come on Ron, you said the chess pieces learn with practice? I'll let you beat me down a few more times with my pieces, so they can maybe learn to help me against you."

Ron laughed as they both walked out of the Great Hall, loaded down with little presents.

Harry's new chess pieces didn't stand a chance.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

That evening, Harry lay in bed staring at the ceiling. _With that cloak, I could go anywhere in the castle, and couldn't get in trouble. Filch couldn't see me, Snape couldn't catch me, or anyone._ Harry nodded to himself and quietly slipped out of bed. He unlocked and grabbed the cloak out of his trunk, and turned to face the sleeping Ron. _Next time. This time is just for me Ron, I want to do what my Dad did._

Throwing the cloak over himself and lifting the hood, Harry quietly made his way down to the common room. No one was there, so he pushed to portrait door open.

The Fat Lady squawked a startled, "Who's there?" but Harry paid her no attention. He wandered around the school, peering in at classrooms, wandering up to the Astronomy tower, and just going wherever his feet took him.

Eventually, he passed a door that was slightly open, in a part of the school he hadn't ever been in. His curiosity taking a hold of him, Harry pushed open the door open partially and looked inside. There was nothing in the room, besides a tall standing mirror in the back. Shrugging to himself, he opened the door fully and walked in.

There was a soft light coming from the window, where the moon shown in. The light fell on the front of the mirror. Softly walking up to it, Harry took a good look at it.

The mirror was encased in a dark wood that Harry didn't know the name of. It was intricately carved, and had some strange language carved into it at the top.

_**Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi.**_

_What in the world?_ Harry got up closer to the mirror to see the lettering better, and found his reflection looking back at him.

Harry started, and fell backwards. _I'm under my cloak!_ He got back up and took a step closer to the mirror. He reappeared in the mirror's reflection. Taking another step closer to it, a few more people appeared. A red-haired woman with his eyes, and a man who was older than him, but looking like his mirror image were behind him.

Taking another step towards the mirror and touching it, he felt only the smooth glass. At that touch, another person appeared. A red-haired girl, maybe a little younger than him had appeared by his side, smiling at him from underneath the arm he had lifted to touch the mirror.

Not moving his arm an inch, Harry thought for a moment. _Does it show other invisible people as well?  
_

The woman behind put her hand on Harry's shoulder, smiling at him. Harry turned his head. _No one behind me; But if they're invisible as well..._ Not moving the arm that was still touching the mirror, he tapped his shoulder with his other hand. In the mirror his image laid its hand on the woman's, but outside the mirror he just touched his shoulder.

Removing his hand from the mirror, the girl at his side faded. Touching the glass again she slowly wavered back into existence. Harry touched the mirror with both hands now, and then dropped his arm through where the girl was supposed to be.

Again, his mirror image did something different. The image's arm went around the girl as Harry's arm fell to his side. Studying the image closely, something clicked in his mind. _The girl from when I was out of the Quidditch match. Elly! I know, I know her! _Harry's other hand dropped in shock, and the girl smiled at him one last time before fading. He touched the mirror again, but she did not come back. _But where do I know her from?_

Confused, Harry turned his attention back to the two people behind him.

'**_Yeh look so much like yer Dad, but only with yer Mum's eyes.'_** Was what Hagrid had told him. Could it be his dad? He looked at the male closely. He was older than Harry, but had the same unruly dark hair. "Dad?" Harry quietly whispered.

The image nodded and grinned at him. Harry turned to look at the woman. "Mum?" A sad smile and nod from the woman. Harry collapsed in front of the mirror. "Are…Are you real?" The images neither agreed with nor denied Harry's question.

Harry stood up, touching the mirror one last time to make sure the girl didn't reappear. "I'll be back tomorrow night." He quickly left the room, his mind going in a thousand directions at once.

Harry stumbled back up the floors to the Gryffindor tower. Pulling off his cloak, he woke the Fat Lady and gave her the password. He fell into bed to get a few hours of sleep.

-

After what felt like only five minutes, Harry heard a voice.

"Come on Harry, wake up. You don't want to sleep half the day away, do you?" Ron yanked the pillow out from under Harry's head.

Harry groaned. "Actually Ron, yes. I do want to sleep half the day away. I was up most of the night."

"What in were you doing all night? And why didn't you wake me up if you couldn't sleep?" Ron demanded.

"I was trying out the cloak. And I wanted to do it by myself the first time Ron. If I had gotten in trouble, at least it would have only been me. Although, I found an interesting mirror. It showed me my parents. If you want, we can go look at it tonight and I'll let you see them. I know my way back to it, so we'd get there a lot faster this time."

"Deal." Ron grinned. "So was it fun? What'd you do?"

Harry spent the next few minutes telling Ron about his midnight wanderings, before shooing him off so he could fall back asleep.

That evening found Harry retracing his footsteps, with Ron along to see the mirror as well. Harry retraced his steps, and soon both boys found themselves back in the room with the mirror.

Harry stood in front of it again, close enough for the image of his parents to appear. "Do you see them?"

Ron shook his head. "No, all I see is your reflection."

"Well come on, stand here where I am then. You'll be able to see them." Harry pulled Ron to where he was standing, and then backed up. "Well, do you see them?"

Ron shook his head. "No, but… It's me. But I'm older. I'm holding both Cups. The Quidditch and the House Cup. Merlin, I've even got the Head Boy badge!" Ron turned to Harry. "Do ya think this thing predicts the future?" Ron's eyes seemed to be begging to hear Harry say yes.

"I don't think so." Ron's face fell. "How could it? I see my parents, and they're dead."

Ron grimaced. "Well, maybe it's showing _me,_ my future. It's gotta be." Ron looked at the mirror again, walked around it, and then stood in front of it again. "Just gotta be." He seemed to whisper to himself.

Harry froze. A sense of Chi had just washed over him. It wasn't Professor Maison's, so who could it be? It wasn't malignant, so Harry quickly memorized the feel of it, before carefully not paying attention to it.

"Ron, come on. I want to see my parents again then." Harry pushed Ron out of the way, so he could stand there and see his mother and father again. _Better not try to touch it. Don't want to know if whoever it is behind us can see what I am._

After a few minutes, Harry moved back again to let Ron see himself. He stepped back enough to almost bump into the source of the Chi, but it moved.

"C'mon Ron, before we get caught out." The Chi source quickly moved away and left the room and Harry's senses. He grabbed Ron and pulled him out the door as well.

As they made their way back to Gryffindor Tower underneath Harry's cloak, they heard arguing voices coming from an antechamber near the Great Hall.

"Headmaster, that dog is a menace, and should be gotten rid of. It is not fit to be a guardian of any sort, much less what you want to protect." _That was Snape's voice_. He was apparently arguing with the Headmaster.

"Regardless Severus, I trust Hagrid's pet. And even if it does prove to be an inadequate guard, there are still the others that have left their guards as well." Dumbledore could be heard saying.

"With all due respect for your decisions sir, Hagrid is an oaf, and anything he leaves is bound to be just as bad as he is. For Merlin's sake, he named a blasted three-headed dog Fluffy!"

Harry and Ron looked at each other. "They're talking about the dog in the third floor corridor!" Harry fiercely whispered. Ron nodded and they both kept listening.

"Be that as it may. I trust Hagrid's ability to provide a guardian, just as I trust you to do your part as well. Nicholas Flamel trusts my decisions on how to guard his treasure, and I will trust in the staff. Is that clear?" Dumbledore's tone brooked no arguments, and Harry felt some Chi leak off of the Headmaster. It was the same as had been in the room with the mirror.

Snape sighed. "Yes sir."

"Now, I think it's time we get to bed. There are several early risers, and we don't want to be caught out arguing, do we?"

Both walked out of the antechamber and went their separate ways.

Both Harry and Ron as silently as they could, ran upstairs back to the tower.

_Curious... Why would the Headmaster just watch us, instead of sending us back to bed?_ Were Harry's last thoughts before he slipped off into sleep.

-

THUMP

Harry groaned and pulled the pillow off his head. "You know, I've got this curious sense of déjà vu." He sat up to find Ron grinning at him. "If you throw a present at me, I'm running away screaming."

Ron looked puzzled. "Why would I do that?"

"Never mind." Harry sighed. "What'd you wake me up for then?"

"Because I can only destroy your chess pieces in so many games of Wizard's Chess before I want to have someone there to watch me. Or play against."

Harry got out of the bed and pulled on a robe. "And how long have you been up?"

"A couple of hours."

"And how long ago did we sneak back in here?"

"Umm… About six hours?"

Harry sighed. "Alright, I got at least _some_ sleep. I don't see how you could not want more than four hours."

"Great, let's go get some breakfast, I'm starving!"

As they were walking down the tower, they discussed the last night's happenings quietly.

"I know that mirror was telling the future for me. It had to be." Ron argued.

"Then why didn't it tell me the future, instead of showing me my parents?"

Ron shrugged. "I dunno."

Harry thought for a moment. "You said you looked older. Maybe it showed you a possible future? And maybe it showed me a possible present, one with my parents in it?"

Ron grinned. "Exactly!"

"I'm going back tonight then. I want to see them again." Harry was adamant.

"I wouldn't. What if Snape or the Headmaster is out again? We were lucky they didn't catch us last night."

"I don't care. Just one more night. I want to see my parents again." Harry paused. "And besides, I don't think they'll be out again, since the Headmaster put Snape in his place about that dog."

"Ya know, Snape was hurt back at Halloween, remember? Maybe he's trying to get to whatever treasure that Dumbledore is guarding for Nicholas Flamel. He tried to get the Headmaster to move the dog, since he didn't know a way past it."

"Probably. But we can't ask them why they were arguing about it unless we say we were out." Harry agreed. "But I still want to see the mirror again."

"I don't think it's a good idea Harry." Ron shook his head. "You're starting to get a little too attached to that mirror, mate."

"Last night, I swear. It's just… I've never seen them before now." Harry head hung down. "This is the only way I'll ever get to see them."

Ron nodded. "Alright. Just don't get caught, alright?"

The two boys reached the Great Hall and Harry looked at Ron and nodded. They sat down to eat, but it was a quiet meal, with both of them thinking over what they had seen the night before.

That night, Ron sat in his bed watching Harry put his cloak on. As his body disappeared, but before he pulled it over his head, Ron spoke. "Last night, you promise?"

"I promise Ron. I just want to get a good look at them." He pulled the cloak over his head and ducked out of the room.

"Good luck." Harry heard Ron say as he made his way down to the common room.

Harry didn't say a word as he quietly moved his way though the common room, where Fred and George were still up, playing Gobstones and discussing something about the wizarding village and their next visit. He paid them no attention, and quietly slipped out through the portrait. The Fat Lady was luckily asleep and didn't alert anyone to the portrait opening.

Making his way through the halls, corridors, and the rest of the tower, Harry was forced to stop several times and hide pressed up against the wall or behind a suit of armor. Filch, Mrs. Norris, and several of the ghosts were more active tonight than they had been the past two nights.

Finally making his way back to the room with the mirror, Harry sat down in front of it. His parents appeared again, and he sat there, just trying to memorize what they looked like. As he reached out to touch the mirror again to try to bring back the girl, Harry stiffened.

The sense of untrained Chi was there again. _The Headmaster._ He dropped his hand and sighed. "Am I in trouble, Headmaster Dumbledore?" Harry turned around to face where the Chi was coming from, to find Dumbledore staring at him, slightly surprised.

"No, Harry. You are not in trouble." Dumbledore looked at the mirror. "Do you know what this mirror is?"

Harry looked at it as well. "No sir, but I do know it doesn't show me correctly. I see my parents, who are not alive anymore."

"And last night it showed your friend Ron older, winning both trophies, and being Head Boy-"

"I brought him here, by the way. He shouldn't get into trouble if I'm not going to be." Harry interrupted.

"No, your friend will not be in trouble either. But it showed him what he wanted, which was to outshine his five older brothers that have been here as well. You, who have never known your parents, see them."

Harry nodded slowly. _He heard us talking last night then. He didn't see it, because then he would have mentioned Elly._ "It shows us what we want to see then?"

"Partially. What this mirror -the Mirror of Erised-, shows you is nothing but your deepest, most heartfelt desires." Dumbledore smiled gently. "It does not do to dwell in dreams and forget to live. It would do you well to remember that."

Harry stood. "Can it show you the future as well? Ron was asking that last night, you know."

Raising an eyebrow at Harry's choice of words, Dumbledore answered. "Many men have spent their lives, wasting away in front of this very mirror, asking the same question. But if it was a possible future, would it come to pass if you spent the rest of your days waiting for it here?"

Harry shook his head. "I guess not. Ron would have to work for something like that, I guess."

"Exactly." He looked at Harry. "Now, after tonight, the mirror is going to be moved to a new home. I would ask that you don't go looking for it." Harry nodded and Dumbledore motioned for Harry to exit the room.

Harry walked out with Dumbledore behind him. As Harry slipped his cloak back on, Dumbledore stopped him. "Although, if you ever do see the mirror again, at least you will know how to work it."

Harry stared for a moment. _He's setting me up for something._ He nodded and ran back to Gryffindor Tower, giving the Fat Lady the password and climbing in quickly, thankful that George and Fred and gone to bed.

He rushed up the dorm steps, finding Ron asleep and dead to the world. He grinned evilly. _My turn._ Grabbing a pillow from his bed, he swung it down hard onto Ron's face.

**THUMP.** Ron jumped up, looking around. "Huh, wah? Whaz's up?" He looked at Harry. "What's the matter?"

"I went down to the mirror and the Headmaster was there." Ron paled. "No, I didn't get into trouble. We actually had a talk about the mirror."

Harry sat down on Ron's bed and relayed the Headmaster's words. He then paused. "Ron, I'm pretty sure he was there last night too, he talked about what you saw in the mirror."

Ron blanched. "Do you think I'm gonna get into trouble?"

"No." Harry shook his head. "I didn't get into trouble, so you shouldn't either. If you do, I'll tell the Headmaster to give me your punishment, I brought you down there."

Ron grinned. "Hopefully not, because wouldn't you hate it if he gave the detention with Snape or Filch?"

Harry laughed. "After that other detention, I don't think Instructor Snape would want me for detention." He sobered. "But the Headmaster did say that if the mirror told the future, you couldn't wait for it to happen. Maybe you could get those things."

"Yeah! That'd be great. I'd love to be Head Boy, and get both the trophies." Ron smiled dreamily. "I'd show 'em all."

Harry laughed quietly. "Alright, I'm going to bed." He got off Ron's bed and crawled under the covers of his own. "_Lumos._" Harry looked over at Ron. "Hey, first lesson in the morning, so I'm getting up early enough to start."

Ron nodded. "Alright, g'night then."

Harry let go of his magic, allowing the light at the tip of his wand to go out, and fell asleep himself.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

_Harry stood motionless. He was standing in front of the mirror again, and could see his mother and father in the reflection. A sickly green light slowly crept up around the mirror from all directions._

_As the light touched the mirror itself, his parents noticed it as well. His dad held his mother, protecting her from the light. He pushed her down, covering her with his body, but when the green glow touched him, his body collapsed. Then it touched his mother and the light in her eyes faded, as she was staring at Harry._

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Harry sat up in bed, his breath racing and heart beating wildly. He looked around quickly. "Just a dream. It was just a dream." He kept repeating to himself. _Should I go look at the mirror, just in case?_ He shook his head. _No, I can't. The Headmaster said it was being moved._

He slid out of bed, noticing Ron was still sleeping. "Shower, need a shower." Mumbling to himself, Harry hurried to the bathroom. He took a long shower, trying to chase away the memories of his dream. _Dream?_ Harry snorted. _Nightmare. I hope to God I don't have that one again. I don't want to see my parents die._

Finally finished, Harry walked back into the dorm and got dressed.

"Ron, you're still asleep. Don't you want to start learning?" Ron mumbled something vague, and then turned over. Harry poked him. "Ron, wake up." Another mumble from Ron. "Alright, but when you sleep through breakfast, don't blame me."

Rolling back over to face Harry, Ron sat up swinging his feet over the bed. "Alright, alright. I'm up. How much longer until breakfast is over?"

"Oh, there's another hour or so." He laughed as Ron glared at him. "But I told you that if you want for me to teach you, we're starting today. Let's go eat breakfast, then we'll start."

After breakfast, they both headed for Professor Maison's classroom.

"Professor Maison said we could use his classroom for practicing. When classes start back, we'll have to use it in the evenings though."

Ron nodded. "Alright. Hey mate, how long do you think before I can do moves like what you were doing?"

Harry stopped. "Really Ron? I don't know. Hopefully I can teach you good enough to do them right. Professor Maison will have to be there if we want to spar though, because I don't want for either of us to get hurt and not be able to get to Madam Pomfrey. Or have to go to her if the Professor can heal me." Ron laughed at that. "Laugh all you want. You haven't even had to be treated by her once yet, and I've been twice."

Harry started walking again and Ron walked beside him. "Really though, if you meant using Chi, remember that the Professor said it took him years and years to ever be able to use his. I guess you're that way too. But maybe you'll be able to do the moves good enough."

They reached the Muggle Studies classroom and Harry pushed the door open. Apparently Maison had already prepared the room for them, as the desks were nowhere to be found, and mats had been placed out for them to work on.

"Come on, we need to do some stretches first." Harry walked out onto the mats. "And your pajamas are probably better for doing this than Hogwarts robes anyways."

"Stretches? Why would I need to do that? I thought you were going to be teaching me kicks and punches and stuff like that." Ron complained.

Harry turned to face him. "Because, if we went straight to that, I can bet you any number of Galleons you want that you'll be in Madam Pomfrey's hands before the end of the day. You'll hurt your muscles because they won't be used to being used this way, and you'll have to wait a week before we can try again."

"Hey, I'm in good enough shape; I still don't think I need to do stretches." Ron protested.

Harry sighed. _Demonstration it is then._ "Alright, look. Can you do this then?" Harry dropped down into the splits, going all the way down until his legs were out at a 180-degree angle.

Ron stared at him. "No, but what does that have to do with learning how to kick and punch?"

"Because." Harry stood up. "If I can do that on the ground, then my kicks can do this." Harry got into a stance, and did a snap kick. His foot went several inches above his head. "I can kick higher than my head easily. It helps to be able to hit something taller than you, say maybe a troll?" Harry said with a laugh.

Ron looked down. "Okay, okay; I'll stretch."

Harry nodded, and they both stretched and warmed up for the next fifteen minutes, before Ron was stopped by Harry.

"Alright. We'll start on Tai Chi. It's one of my favorite types of Martial Arts. And it deals with energy, so even if you can't use Chi, maybe you can use magic a little better?"

Ron looked at him, puzzled. "Whaddya mean?"

"Remember what Professor Maison said about magic being more powerful if you use it more?" Ron nodded. "I learned to control my Chi first, but once I found my magical core, I can use it kinda like my Chi. Maybe you could learn to control your magic like that?"

Grinning, Ron remarked. "Hermione's going to kill you, you know. I might be able to use magic better? She's gonna go nuts."

Harry shrugged. "I don't know for sure. It may be you'd have to learn to use your Chi first, then you could do it with your magic. Either way, it took me about three years before I got any sort of control over my Chi, so it'd be a long time for her or you."

Harry spent the rest of the morning showing Ron each of the separate moves in Tai Chi; and by lunchtime, Ron was completely worn out.

"Great Merlin, how can you keep going?" Ron sat on the floor, staring at Harry who was now going through his own forms.

Harry stopped, and looked at him. "I've done it for a long time. Not to mention this is easy compared to when I spar with my cousin. Oh! And speaking of my cousin, I need to send him a letter this afternoon."

When they got back to their common room, Ron ran upstairs saying something about a shower. The twins, who were in the common room as well and heard the comment, smiled at each other.

Fred pulled out his wand, and walked over to one of the walls. He tapped it with his wand, muttering something that Harry didn't hear.

Moments later, Harry did hear something. "BLOODY HELL! It's freezing! Fred! George! I'm going to kill you!" echoed down the stairs.

Both twins were laughing along with Harry. George walked over to the wall and poked it with his wand. "What in the world? Hey Forge, the charms still making the water pipes cold. He's actually taking a shower in it!"

Fred ran over and poked the wall too, looking at the charm that he had cast. "Bloody crazy-"

"-Our brother is."

"That water is right above freezing."

Still chuckling, Harry grinned at the twins. "He wanted to learn what I am. So he probably really wanted a shower, regardless."

The twins grinned at each other, then turned to Harry. "Oh, and what exactly is little Ronnekins Learning from the Great Boy-Who-Lived?" Fred asked.

Harry groaned, hoping they wouldn't want to join. "Some non-magical Martial Arts."

The twins shrugged. "Definitely not something we need to know then."

"Yeah, because we have magical martial arts!"

Harry looked at them, eyes bright. "Oh? What type of martial arts is that?"

Fred looked at him with his nose in the air. "It's a very solemn thing."

"Very dignified. Not many people know it at all." George added.

Harry paused, puzzled. "You two don't know it, and it doesn't exist, does it? There's no way the two of you would do anything that made you be dignified."

"Alas, caught in our own web of lies." Fred held his hands to his cheeks.

"We can only pray that the spider doesn't eat us." George sat on the floor, holding his heart.

"Not the spider! Hold me!" Fred fell into his brother's arms, and both wept hysterically.

Harry laughed at them. "And that's why I didn't believe you."

A few minutes later, Ron came down, clothed but teeth chattering. "I- I'm.. going…t-to kill you… t-t-two." He managed to get out.

"Come on Ron, sit by the fire." Harry pointed to the merrily flickering flames. Ron sank down in front of it, not bothering to sit in a chair or on the couch.

Ron ignored his brothers pestering him about his icy shower.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The rest of the holiday break went by reasonably peacefully, with Harry having his lessons with Professor Maison and Harry attempting to teach Ron the basics of Tai Chi. Ron still had his cold showers, as the twins were always waiting for Ron after the end of one of those lessons.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Harry and Ron sat on the steps leading to the Hogwarts' front doors in the snow, waiting on the carriages to return from the train station.

Looking at Ron, Harry asked the question he'd been wondering. "Hey, you think Hermione will know who Flamel is? I looked in a couple of books in the library, but couldn't find anything."

Ron snorted. "She may have us for friends, but she's still a walking textbook. She'll probably tell us what book, where in the library, along with the page number and probably the exact sentence that has his name."

Ten minutes later, the carriages arrived. A flood of students came out, and Hogwarts welcomed the students back home. Harry and Ron found Hermione and pulled her to the library.

Once they got there, Hermione paused. "Who are you two, and what'd you do with Harry and Ron? I don't think I'd ever see the two of you actually bringing me TO the library."

They all sat down at a table in the far back, and Harry explained in a whispered voice what the problem was. Once it had been explained, Hermione was thoughtful.

"It doesn't ring a bell, but maybe we could find it."

Harry looked to Ron and smirked. "Looks like you were wrong. She didn't know exactly where it was."

Hermione flushed and Ron laughed nervously. "Oh well."

Hermione went to one of the many shelves and pulled down several books. "While we're here though, we can at least start looking." She put them on the table and then grabbed one for herself. "Come on you two; if you want to know, help."

Harry grabbed a book and started looking through the pages.

Ron groaned. "What have I got myself into?" He whispered, but grabbed a book all the same and started looking as well.

The trio searched through as many of the library's books as they could that day, and whenever they managed to get a chance for the next few weeks between classes, Harry's Quidditch practice, and Harry and Ron's training sessions.

Hermione had declined to join Ron in training, saying she would rather study her classwork.

One Friday evening, the trio were taking a break in the common room. Harry looked over, and saw a crowd bunched up near the twins. He poked Ron.

"Hey, what's up with your brothers? Why are they so popular?"

Ron looked over at them and noticed the crowd. "They're taking orders for Hogsmeade candy. I guess tomorrow is a Hogsmeade weekend."

"Huh?"

"Third years and up, upon receiving parental or guardian permission, are allowed to visit the nearby Wizarding village of Hogsmeade on certain weekends." Hermione said, without looking up from her book.

"Yeah, and they're trying to make some money by buying candy and whatnot for the people that can't go." Ron explained.

"What do they have down there?" asked Harry.

"From what Percy told me, everything that was on the trolley on the train, plus more." Ron shrugged. "Doesn't matter anyways, I can't get any."

"What would you get if you could?"

"Chocolate Frogs. The only Chocolate Frog card left that I need is Agrippa. There's got to be one out there somewhere."

Harry grinned and walked over to the twins. "Hey, you two are getting stuff from the sweet-shops?" Two heads bobbed up and down. "I want some Cauldron Cakes, and can you get a few Chocolate Frogs too?" He pulled out two Galleons from his pocket.

The twins nodded. "Not a problem Harry." Harry handed the coins over, and went to sit back down.

"Well, I'm getting some Cauldron Cakes, and a few Chocolate Frogs." Harry mentioned when he sat back down.

"I don't need you buying things for me Harry." Ron's face was red from embarrassment.

"They're not just for you Ron. Hermione can have a few, and I'll eat a few. And any Agrippa cards we find are yours."

Ron calmed down slightly, his face returning to its normal color. "Alright, but next time, warn me. I could have gotten one myself; I've got a Sickle or two I think-"

Ron let out an, "Oof!" as Hermione dropped a book in his lap. "Keep looking in this one. I'm going to go grab another book." She wandered through the portrait, muttering to herself. "Not _Modern Magical Achievements, _or _Great Wizards of the 20th Century_. Where could he be?"

Ron looked at the book in his lap. "She's crazy I tell you. Totally barking mad." He laughed as he opened the book.

Hermione returned with more books, and the three spent the next hour looking through them.

"Hermione, I'm going to bed. We're not going to find him tonight. It's Saturday tomorrow, and I've got a lesson with Professor Maison. Good night." He looked at Ron. "Night mate."

Ron nodded. "I'm coming in a few minutes too. My brain's hurting from all the words." Harry laughed and nodded his agreement.

The next morning dawned bright and clear, and most of the castle left for Hogsmeade. Harry went to his morning lesson with Professor Maison and Hermione kept looking for Flamel, while badgering Ron to help her.

That evening, Fred and George came back, loaded down with sweets. "Best idea we've had, brother mine."

"All of my ideas are grand, you should know that by now."

"Hey, wait a second, I thought this was my idea?"

"It was. I stole it from your brain before you could think it, so it could be my idea."

"Alas, my poor idea, I never knew you well."

The gathered first and second years laughed, but quickly demanded their candy.

Fred nodded. "On to business then. I've got a box of Sugar Quills for you Neville." He handed the box to Neville, who grinned. "Thanks." Fred nodded.

George grabbed the next couple of boxes. "Oy! Harry! Here's your stuff!" Harry grabbed it as George tried to give him the change.

Harry waved him off, not looking at it. "Keep it, there probably wasn't much left anyways."

"You sure Harry?" Fred asked.

"Yeah, I just wanted the candy. Thanks."

Fred nodded and pocketed the change.

Harry walked over to Ron and tossed one of the boxes. "Says a box of ten frogs Ron, pull me one out then go find Agrippa."

Ron laughed and tossed a smaller box back at Harry. He grabbed it. Pulling the frog out, he looked at the card underneath it. "'_Albus Dumbledore_'. Hey, I got one of the Headmaster!"

Ron looked up. "Yeah, I've got about a dozen of him."

Harry shrugged. He turned the card over to read it, and dropped the frog, which then made a hasty escape.

"Holy… Ron, Hermione! I found Flamel."

Hermione and Ron looked up, their eyes questioning him.

"It's on the Headmaster's card. He's an alchemy partner of the Headmaster."

* * *

Well, there it ends. Not really a cliffhanger, as you all should have read Book 1 by now. grin We all know what's coming next.

Thanks go out to all my great reviewers. Please review again! Not that I won't keep writing, but it's always grand to know you're there.

Oh, and a special comment for Nyeshet. Are you fishing for future plot developments? Bad boy. I'm not giving those up just yet. Although, I will tell you it's not the Rune that's part of the blocking problem.


	16. Chapter 15

Clay Pinions

By Lochar

Disclaimer: Can't think of anything witty at the moment, so I don't own HP or Xenogears. Kay?

**Chapter 15**

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* * *

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"Come on." Hermione was dragging both the boys into the library. "I swear I know what book it is, and I know you don't want to look through every Alchemy book the library has."

Harry grinned. "Alright, we're hurrying."

They made it into the library, with Hermione sitting them at a table and telling them to stay there.

Ron looked at the shelves around them. "What do ya think she's gonna get?"

"Knowing Hermione? Probably the biggest book on Alchemy, and we'll have to look through it for him." Harry joked.

But true to his word, Hermione came back with a huge tome, and dropped it onto the table. It made a loud 'thump' and dust flew off the cover.

"Hermione… How in the world are we supposed to find anything in this?" Harry looked at the spine, reading the label. "'_The Alchemic Concordance_'? What in the world is in it?"

Hermione smiled at the two of them. "Just about everything created by alchemy, and who created it." Her smile widened when their jaws dropped. "And in reverse too. Every alchemist, and everything they ever created. Unfortunately, it doesn't show how to do alchemy. Help me get to the back of the book."

Harry and Ron helped her flip through the massive book, to the last quarter of it.

Hermione flipped through a few more pages, mumbling to herself. "Flamel… Flamel… Where are you?" She turned another page, and traced her finger down the list of names. "Ah, there you are!" She looked at his entry and read it to them.

"_Nicholas Flamel. One of three known creators of the Philosopher's Stone. His Stone is the only known way to create the Elixir of Life, besides its ability to turn any metal into gold. Mr. Flamel is currently 650 years of age, along with his wife Perenelle_." Hermione went quiet for a moment. "A way to create Elixir of Life? Huh? Is that what is being guarded?" She looked at Ron and Harry.

"Sounds like it. What's the 'Elixir of Life'?" Harry asked.

Ron shrugged. "Dunno, but it's probably in that book. Front of it too, I'm guessing."

Hermione nodded. "Help me get it back to the front." The three managed to get it back to the beginning of the book, and Hermione found the entry. "_Elixir of Life - created by Nicholas Flamel. This elixir extends the life of the drinker for an unknown amount of time. As Mr. Flamel currently still must drink the Elixir, it is apparently not a permanent source of immortality_."

"So you think that Snape's trying to become immortal?" Harry asked.

Ron nodded. "Greasy git. He wants to live forever to torment us, probably."

"Nah, can't be that." Harry argued. "He probably wants it for both things. Turning stuff into gold, and to be able to live forever." Harry looked thoughtful for a moment. "I'd hate to live forever though. All your friends would be gone eventually."

"But all that gold. Think of what you could do with it!" Ron's eyes were almost glazed over thinking of it.

"But what's the use of gold if you're lonely Ron? You'd have to watch your family and friends die around you!" Hermione's face was pale. "I'd rather never have the Elixir."

"Then we know why Snape wants it. With his sourpuss ways, he probably doesn't have any friends." Harry laughed a little.

"Alright, we know what's being guarded. So how do we keep Snape from getting it?" Ron looked between them. "It's not like the Professors are going to believe us if we tell them that we know what's behind that door, and that Snape is trying to steal it."

Hermione looked at him, puzzled. "Why do you think that? Wouldn't they at least want to make sure of it?"

"No." Harry shook his head. "The argument between the Headmaster and Snape that we heard made it sound like most of the teachers are helping to protect it. Snape included, I guess. No one is going to believe that someone protecting it wants to take it." He looked at them both. "So, we've gotta keep Snape away from that corridor. No matter what."

"Right." Ron and Hermione agreed. "No letting the greasy git get the stone." Ron added.

"Ron, don't talk about teachers like that." Hermione scolded him.

"Uhh, isn't this the teacher we just said was trying to steal that stone?"

Hermione's face reddened. "Oh. But we still need to respect him, otherwise he might suspect us?" She offered hesitantly.

"You can. He'd probably suspect me more if I was actually nice to him." Harry grinned. "I haven't shown Instructor Snape any respect at all."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

A week later found Harry sitting in the common room, bored. Ron had managed to get a detention with Filch, and Hermione was yet again in the library, going between looking up Flamel, Alchemy, and getting several months ahead on all of the homework. He'd quietly left the library after she'd gone ranting about not being able to find out anything of use about using Alchemy.

He poked the cheerily crackling fire with one of the iron pokers, rolling the log over and sending sparks up the chimney. He stood up and stretched. _Might as well practice what Professor Maison was teaching yesterday morning._

Harry sat down and sunk into one of the overstuffed chairs. Closing his eyes, he drifted in the Void, watching his Chi. _Need to learn very fine control before he'll teach me anything else._ He channeled a bit of his Chi into his open hand, remembering what Maison had said next.

"_You channel your Chi into your hands, but do you think of what you're channeling it into? Can you separate it into each finger, control it separately for each finger on your hand?"_

Harry concentrated, drawing the Chi out of his palm, trying to leave the energy in just his fingers. The Chi in his palm pulled away from his pinky finger, and sweat broke out on Harry's forehead. His ring finger was next, and as soon as he managed to separate the Chi in his second finger from his palm, his concentration broke and all the Chi he had channeled drained away. He opened his eyes, breathing harder and panting slightly.

"This is gonna take me forever. I have to keep concentrating on breaking it up, but can't stop concentrating on the ones I already did."

Harry took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and kept trying.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"Alright, it's the match between us and Hufflepuff. They're not a bad team, but they not great either. But don't let your guard down! With Snape refereeing the match, he's going to be looking for any reason to knock us out of the game, especially since we beat the Slytherins last game." Oliver said to the team, inside the changing room.

Harry groaned. "Oliver, don't remind me. I've been dreading this since I found out Snape is going to be the referee last week."

"Doesn't matter if I remind you or not Harry, it's going to happen. Best we can do is play a fair game and hope you catch the Snitch quickly. Not even he can dispute that."

"Trust me, I'm going to be trying my hardest to find it before Snape can find a reason to kick me off the field." He looked out towards the field. "I guess it's too much to hope he'll be unbiased, since we aren't playing the Slytherins?"

The twins laughed. "Harry, the only time Snape would ever be unbiased is…" Fred started, then paused. "Well, um. We're pretty sure there's a time he would be; can we get back to you on that?"

"Alright team, it's time to get out there." Oliver interrupted them. "Let's go and win. Harry, get that Snitch as fast as you can."

Harry nodded, and they all mounted up and flew out.

"**Ladies and Gentleman, this is your commentator, Lee Jordan. Today's match is Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff, with guest referee Professor Snape. Will we see an even hand here today, or will Snape's legendary hate of Gryffindor shine through?"**

"**JORDAN!"**

"**Sorry Professor. Anyways, here comes the team. Lead by Keeper and Captain Oliver Wood, it's the Gryffindors! And from the other side of the field we have the Hufflepuffs, led by Chaser and Captain Darik Summersby.**"

As Harry flew out over the pitch, he saw Snape staring at him. Sinking into the Void, Harry wrapped his magic around the broom echo in his mind, determined to not let anyone mess with his broom again. He watched Snape turn from him to throw the Quaffle up -starting the match-, then he starting looking for the released Snitch, hoping to end the match quickly. He ignored Jordan's comments, putting all his concentration on keeping the magically wrapped broom in his hands, and finding the Snitch.

He was startled out of his search only minutes later when Snape blew the whistle, signaling a foul against the Gryffindors. The Hufflepuff who took the shot did so half-heartedly for some reason, as Harry watched. Oliver easily caught the Quaffle and tossed it back into play. Harry resumed his search.

He dodged a Bludger sent his way and Fred flew up behind it, smacking it back down towards the Hufflepuff team, causing it to closely pass by Harry. The whistle blew again. He looked down at Snape.

"Mr. Weasley. No attempting to hit the Bludgers at your own teammates. Penalty to Hufflepuff." Snape looked up at a silently fuming Fred and Harry.

_WHAT? That can't be a rule, I've never heard of it._ The Hufflepuff captain took the shot, seeming to toss it directly at Oliver. After a moment of play, he called a timeout. The Gryffindors floated in the sky, while the Hufflepuffs huddled around their goal posts. Summersby looked up, and motioned to the Gryffindors to come over.

Flying over, they joined the Hufflepuffs in their quickly ending meeting.

"Alright, as we can easily tell, Professor Snape isn't going to be playing very fair this game." Summersby started. "Here's my suggestion. Any penalty shots we get, unless we can actually tell it was a penalty, we're just going to toss at you Oliver, ok?" Oliver nodded, confused. "It's one thing to have a fun game, but he's trying to ruin you guys. Granted, we're not the best team, but we should be playing fairly, right?" All the Hufflepuffs nodded, followed by the Gryffindors. "So, if we accidentally actually foul you, we'll open up our Keeper to you, allowing you a shot just like a penalty, even if the referee doesn't call it."

Everyone agreeing, they all flew out and resumed their positions. The game resumed, and was enjoyed by both teams, as they only partially paid attention to Snape, following the rule of his calls, but not actually taking any penalty points. Harry stopped for a moment to listen to Jordan.

"**Ladies, gentlemen, and Slytherins-"**

"**Jordan…"**

"**Yes Professor. Anyways, the two teams seemed to have had an impromptu joint meeting, and have actually seemed to have tied our guest referee's hands up, not taking any of his given penalty shots seriously. The score stands at 90-40 with Gryffindor in the lead… Wait a moment; it seems Gryffindor Seeker Harry Potter has seen the Snitch. Try to catch it without falling this time, Harry!"**

Harry had seen the Snitch, and was currently diving towards the goal posts of the Hufflepuff team. His opposite had also seen it, and they were neck to neck racing towards the goal posts. Harry managed to pull ahead slightly and grabbed the Snitch. Quickly pulling up so he didn't hit the stadium, he held it aloft. Snape seemed to stare at it for a moment, looking to the Hufflepuff Chasers who were motionless in the air, before turning back to Harry. He nodded grudgingly.

"**Gryffindor wins, 240-50! Gryffindor wins!"**

Harry flew to Snape and handed the Snitch over before flying back to the Hufflepuff Seeker. He shook his hand. "Good game."

The other Seeker nodded. "You too. And thanks for not being an arse about it."

Harry shook his head. "Never. Especially after you guys refused to take Snape's stupid penalties."

Both boys shook hands again, then flew off to their respective teams.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"You know Harry, you're being awfully paranoid." Hermione laughed as she watched Harry darting through the halls, trying his best to quickly get to their next class.

"Snape's going to want revenge against me, and I'm not giving him the chance to track me down outside of class." He replied, once they had gotten to the Transfiguration classroom. "Potions tomorrow is going to be bad enough."

"If he wants to get you tomorrow, there's not much you can do about it mate." Ron remarked.

"Don't remind me."

"Alright class, quiet down. Today we're going to be working with your needles again." Professor McGonagall said, addressing the whole classroom.

Several students looked up, and Hermione looked puzzled.

"We're not turning the needles into matches, the way you turned the matches to needles. Instead, you're going to be reversing your transfiguration of the needles back into the same match they were." She passed out a bunch of needles. "These are the needles that your class changed. You're going to learn to turn them back into matches again, allowing them to follow their path of original transfiguration back into matches."

"Huh?" Ron, along with a good part of the class was confused.

"Really Ron, what Professor McGonagall is saying is we're turning the needles back into the matches they were to begin with, by making them go backwards of how we turned them into needles." Hermione lectured them.

"Very good Ms. Granger." Hermione beamed at the praise, as McGonagall passed out the needles. "If you need any help class, feel free to ask me to come over. Also, you may find it easier if you trade a needle for one of your partners. As you are not getting your exact needles back, you may encounter difficulties on the occasional needle from one of your classmates."

By three fourths of the way through the class, everyone had managed to change the needles back into matches, with the exception of a small group of needles, just enough for one student.

"Professor McGonagall?" Hermione spoke up. "Did you perhaps give us regular needles also? We can't get these to turn back."

McGonagall walked over. "I don't think I did Ms. Granger." She tapped the needles with her wand. "Hmm. No, they are transfigured needles, but for some reason very strongly done." She looked up at the class. "Alright class, ten points to the student who manages to change these back. I suppose I must have added a third or fourth year student's practice needles in."

The class took turns trying to un-transform the needles, but no one got even one of them to change. Harry sat back, waiting with Ron and Hermione at the end of the group for their turns. Ron's turn came, and he walked up to them. Tapping them with his wand, and then waving it over the needles. Only a single one rolled over, but none changed back. Ron glared at the needles, then stomped off, letting Hermione have a chance.

Hermione closed her eyes, holding her wand on a single needle. She concentrated hard, sweat starting to bead on her forehead, before lifting her wand and tapping the needle again. Slowly, the needle wavered and turned back into a match. She opened her eyes and looked to Professor McGonagall.

"Two points for the first one, Ms. Granger. There's still four more to go."

Hermione shook her head. "I can't Professor. Just doing one of them was really tiring." McGonagall nodded, and Hermione sat back down at her desk.

Harry stood at the remaining four needles. Closing his eyes, he did as the Professor had suggested. Calling up a mental image of them in his mind, he blanked the needles out, focusing on removing the transfiguration, instead of changing it. He tapped the first one with his wand, and his eyes flew open, astonished. _They've got my Chi on them! They must be the ones I changed that day I was really mad!_ His concentration broke, and the needle didn't so much as waver closer back to being a match.

Harry grinned at the needles slightly. _I made you, I can unmake you._ Harry closed his eyes again, and brought to mind his magical core. He split the energy in half, and then took a quarter of that half and channeled it into his wand. He could see the Chi that had been forced into a magical form, and he tapped the needle with his wand. Sliding the magic underneath the Chi, he pushed it until it broke, and opened his eyes. A plain brown matchstick sat under his wand.

"One down, three to go Mr. Potter." McGonagall said. Harry nodded and closed his eyes again.

Looking at the remaining energy he had to use, Harry was shocked to see some of the magical power he had used was already coming back, and that his core seemed to have a slight glow around it. He spun his mind's eye around his magical core, and saw the source of the glow. It was the minor Rune of Absorption he'd yanked into his core at the beginning of the year. _It must be drawing magical energy quicker to recharge my core. Neat._ Not bothering with watching the process anymore, Harry quickly channeled some more magic into his wand, and then at the needle, releasing the Chi that was holding the match in the needle's shape.

Harry opened his eyes, to see four matchsticks sitting on the table. McGonagall's eyebrows were raised. "The rest of the eight points to you, Mr. Potter. I'm surprised you were able to do it though."

"They were my needles, Professor." Harry shrugged. McGonagall nodded and dismissed the class.

-

That evening, Hermione and Ron both accosted Harry about the class.

"Harry, what did you mean they were your needles? And how did you easily change back four of them, when it wore me out to do just one?" Hermione's questions were shot out.

Ron's quickly followed. "And how in the world did you manage to change them enough to make McGonagall think a third or fourth year had done it?"

Harry opened his mouth for a second, closed it, and thought for a moment. "Hermione, they were my needles. That's probably why they were easier for me to undo the transfiguration on them, since I was the one to do it in the first place. And Ron?" He looked at his friend. "It was the class right after Snape was taking points left, right, and center from me for stupid things. I was really, really mad and pretty much just yelled at the matches to change and they did. It was that and I used some Chi doing it too."

Hermione nodded thoughtfully, but Ron kept going. "Bloody hell, you can do that with that Chi stuff?"

"I've got more Chi than I do magic, and it takes a lot of Chi to make it do something like magic. And to me, it's really easy to reverse. But I can sense where it's at, so that's probably why." Harry explained.

Ron nodded as well. "Can't wait until I can do something with it then."

-

Harry pushed the door open to the Potions classroom, only to hear an unfriendly and very unwanted voice ring out. "Potter, five points for being late!"

He stopped in the doorway, staring at Snape, then turned behind him to see several more Gryffindors and even a few Slytherins still waiting outside the classroom. "Uh, excuse me Instructor, but I made sure I was in here early."

"Five more points for backtalk, and another five for blocking the doorway. Move out of the way Potter!"

Harry quickly moved out of the way and got into his seat. Ron came in right behind him and sat down next to him. "Greasy git. You purposely came early to try to not get into trouble!" he whispered harshly.

Harry nodded slightly, focusing on Snape. "He's got it in for me, he'll do whatever he can to get me." He whispered back quietly.

A few minutes later, the rest of the class had trickled in and sat down. Snape stood in front of the class. "Alright dunderheads. I've been going back over your previous potions and made a discovery. Barely half of you could make our first potion, the boil cure. So, I'm going to put you all through a remedial lesson." Snape flicked his wand at the board, which spun around to show the instructions for the potion. "Maybe this time, all the dunderheads in the class won't mess it up." He glared at Neville, who gulped.

Snape's eyes turned towards the Slytherins. "I do wish I didn't have to waste the time of the students in this class who actually were able to make this potion, but I must maintain some degree of competence in my classroom."

Harry wrote down the directions, comparing it to the notes he had from the beginning of the school year when he had written down Snape's first directions. The only change this time was the emphasis on the porcupine quills after the potion was off of the fire. _At least he's not trying to purposely mess us up._ Ron quickly started gathering the components, while Harry started the fire and set their cauldron to boiling.

They worked as quickly as they could; only slowing down for the timed elements of the potion. Once they were about halfway through, Harry felt something hit him in the back. Quickly turning around, he saw Malfoy sniggering with his partner, Pansy. He looked down, to find a bundle of porcupine quills at his feet. He looked at Ron, who looked at the quills as well. Ron picked them up, and then when Snape wasn't looking, hurled them back at Malfoy.

Malfoy caught them easily enough, and smirked at them, inclining his head as he pulled his cauldron off the fire and calmly added them to his potion. Harry narrowed his eyes at Malfoy, but quickly spun around as he heard Ron gasp.

The potion had sat too long on the fire, and while they'd been distracted, someone had tossed another bundle of quills into their cauldron. The potion inside was quickly turning into a green sludge and the telltale green smoke was starting to form. Harry slammed a lid down on top of the cauldron and yanked it off the fire. He spun around again, seeing Malfoy openly laughing at them.

"Sabotage." Harry's eyes narrowed and his magic jumped before he could grab hold of it. Malfoy's cauldron cracked, and the potion started leaking out of it.

"POTTER! Ten points for destruction of another student's property!" Snape, as always, appeared just in time to witness the destruction of the Slytherin boy's cauldron, but not in time to witness someone else destroying Harry's potion.

"You'd better not have messed up your potion as well, Potter." Snape stalked over to the two of them, noticing the lid on the cauldron. "Let's have a look see, shall we?" Ron grinned and backed up, and Harry smiled slightly as well before taking his own steps backwards.

Snape lifted the lid, only to be hit in the face with a huge cloud of green smoke, along with some of the potion jumping out. He staggered back, bellowing. "Potter, what in Merlin's name did you do!" He managed to make his way back to his desk, where he dipped his hand in the cauldron sitting there, coming out with the correct boil cure potion. He dabbed it on the boils already sprouting from his face, and then scooped a bit more out with a beaker, downing it. The boils vanished immediately.

"Twenty points from Gryffindor for the both of you. And detention for you Potter, I know this was your idea! But as I don't trust you around my classroom any more than I have to, you'll be serving it with Filch tomorrow tonight." Snape scowled at Harry, whom scowled right back.

Harry grabbed his bag, shoving his books and notes into it. "I'll go then Instructor, before you decide to take any more points from me." He stormed out of the potions lab.

"Twenty more points if you leave this classroom Potter!" was shouted as the door slammed shut.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"Still wish that the Headmaster would allow me to use the chains as punishment." Filch was saying the next day, as he guided Harry to where he'd be doing his punishment. "But!" He spun around, glaring at Harry. "As it's not, you'll be polishing every suit of armor in this hallway." He handed Harry a rag and several large bottles of Muggle polish. "Without magic, or magical cleaners." He cackled, and turned back around. "Spick-and-span, Potter. I don't want any of the suits to have a single dull spot."

Harry nodded, sourly.

Twenty minutes later, Harry had managed to finish with a single suit of armor. He looked down the hallway. "Great, only nine more to go."

Another hour passed by, and then Harry heard a voice coming up the hallway. _Just great, Malfoy. Betcha he's been looking for me, to rub it in my face._ Harry bit his lip, determined to ignore the idiot.

"Ah, Potter." Malfoy looked at him, busily cleaning the suit of armor. "Ignoring me? Or is the Head of the _Great_ Potter Family too busy being a common house-elf that he can't find the time to talk to his betters? Are you so broke that you can't afford a house-elf to do your work for you, or are you spreading out the Potter fortune to the Weasel and the Mudblood so they'll pretend to be your friends, so you don't have any money left?"

Harry ignored the taunts, and eventually Malfoy walked off, laughing to himself.

_I think I'll ask Hermione if she knows what I can do as the 'Head of the Potter Family' to get back at the bleach blond…_

_

* * *

_

So, that'll end the chapter. What do we think Hermione will find, if anything? And, gasp, I'm giving Harry Head of Family rights as a first year? He's too young you say? Stay tuned next chapter for my reasons.

Oh, and also. As the 20th is my b-day, getting this chapter out is my b-day present to myself. As a b-day present to me, could I get lots and lots of reviews? Purdy please?

Couple of notes. Nyeshet, DD was the one startled last chapter, as Harry sensed him before he could say anything to Harry. That threw him off a bit. Unicorn, as far as I know in canon, Harry didn't ask his family if he could come back. Here, Vernon still really has final say so, as Petunia doesn't work, and Vernon is fighting Harry however he can, even if it's through the "I won't go pick him up, he doesn't deserve presents, etc." things.

Beta'd by Dr. Gero, bless him for getting it done this quickly.


	17. Chapter 16

**Clay Pinions **

**By Lochar**

Disclaimer: HP and XG belong to their respective owners, neither of which is me. If it were me, I'd be stinking rich, and as my bank account agrees I'm not rich, so therefore, I don't own it.

Chapter 16

* * *

"Hermione!" Harry started grandly the next morning in the common room. "Friend of mine who knows the library better than anyone else I know!"

Hermione looked up at Harry, puzzled. "We don't have any homework right now, so that can't be it... What is it Harry?"

"Malfoy found me last night while I was in detention with Filch. He started trying to make fun of me, but I mostly ignored him. My question is though; he called me the, 'Head of the Potter Family'. Is that true?" Harry asked.

Hermione thought about it for a moment. "Probably. You are the last Potter, so you would technically be the Head. But since you're a minor, I don't know how much applies to you. Hold on a minute." Hermione rushed out of the room and up the stairs to the girls' dorm rooms.

While he was waiting, Harry turned to Ron whom was reading a Quidditch magazine nearby. "Hey Ron, you know anything about customs for the family lines?"

"Nah. Since I'm the sixth boy in my family, there's almost no chance of me becoming head of the Weasleys. Not like we care about it anyways, but either Charlie or Bill would be the one to ask." Ron put the magazine down and shrugged. "If they even know. I know Dad does, but how much my brothers were taught? Your guess is as good as mine. We don't follow most of the traditional customs anyways, except the big few."

"Oh. What are the big few then?"

Ron thought for a moment. "Major fights between family heads, magical maturity, marriage links, heirlooms. There might be one or two others, but I don't know them."

"Wow Ron, I'm surprised." Hermione's voice was heard saying from behind them.

Ron quickly spun around as Harry laughed. "Why's that?"

"I didn't think you'd actually bother with customs at all, if your family mostly didn't." Hermione smiled at him. "Besides, if you can remember that, it shouldn't be hard to remember to do your homework, should it?"

Ron groaned. "There's a difference Hermione. Those will or already mean something; most of the stuff we have to learn I won't use again after Hogwarts."

Hermione glared at him, and as she took a deep breath Harry quickly spoke up, proving his courage by interrupting Hermione before she could start yelling at Ron. "I can guess what the major fights are, but what are those other three?" Hermione reluctantly closed her mouth and both looked to Ron to explain.

"Umm… Magical maturity happens about the same time as you become an adult in our world. That's actually what it's based on. We usually have a big party and Bill and Charlie were showing off how much their magic had improved pretty much overnight. Marriage links..." Ron paused. "I'm not sure about all of those, but when you get married, the guy who marries you links you. Mum and Dad said that it lets you feel some of the other person's emotions. After about ten years if you stay together, it can be changed to a bond, which is a stronger link that can't be broken. Heirlooms are stuff that gets passed down through the family. Since our family is so big, I mainly get the stuff that my brothers don't want. The only thing I actually got first is my great-great-great grandfather's Chocolate Frog Card collection."

"Wow Ron, that's very good." Hermione praised, which caused Ron to grin. "I checked out this book from the library. It's supposed to have the major and most of the minor Wizarding customs, traditions, and rules in it."

"'_Living in the Wizarding World for the Muggle-born_'?" Harry read off the cover. "And why don't we get this book on our book list for first year? It'd probably help a lot."

Hermione shrugged. "Madam Pince said about forty years ago, before Professor Binns died while he was the History of Magic teacher, it was one of the first years books." Hermione opened the book to the index. "Hmm… Ah, here it is. _Chapter 8: Public Interactions between Families and their Heads._ There should be something here." Hermione flipped to that chapter, and the trio started reading through it.

"_Interaction between male and female Heads... Interaction between two same gender Heads... _There's a lot of subheadings Hermione." Harry noted.

"We'll find something." Hermione muttered, distracted.

"Hey, I wonder if Snape is the Head of his family? We could look for something to use against him here." Ron asked.

"No, it's his uncle or something. I think Professor Snape is third or fourth in line after him."

"How do you know that Hermione?"

"I accidentally looked up some Wizarding families once in the library. I don't remember exactly who the Head of the Snapes was, but it wasn't the Professor." She looked up at Ron as he and Harry exchanged an incredulous glace at their friend's knowledge. "Why would you want to go after a Professor, Ron?"

"Why? Let's see… Because he's after the Stone, remember? And he's constantly taking points from all of us, but Harry especially?" Ron went on in an obvious tone. "He hates all the Gryffindors, and he gives more points to the Slytherins than he takes away from the Gryffindors. I've got more, want to hear them?" Ron was starting to work himself up and his voice had gotten louder by each accusation.

"Alright, so he's not the nicest teacher in Hogwarts." Hermione said, rolling her eyes.

"Hey, how about this? _'Interacting with the Head of another Family_'? Would that be what Malfoy was doing?" Harry interrupted the two of them.

"It would be. Let me see it." Hermione pulled the book in front of her. She quickly read over the paragraphs. "Hmm, _formally meeting a Head_, _informal meetings with a Head_, oh, maybe this? It's about respect due to a Head, and how a Head should act."

"Sounds good. So what should Malfoy have actually acted like if he was going to bring up family stuff?" Harry asked as he leaned over the book to read along with Hermione.

"_Encounters between families are usually straight forward, but when a member of another family greets a Family Head in customary style, they are to be respectful and ask leave to speak normally. This style is usually reserved for disputes between families or other business between the two. Blatant disregard or disrespect towards a Family Head during these times usually precludes a direct challenge to the Head. If no challenge is given, the Head may instead challenge their aggressor to either withdraw the disparaging remarks, or face a duel. Accidental disregard or disrespect is usually quickly resolved by an apology. If a minor is the person that gives purposeful disrespect, the challenge may not be directed to the child, but instead must either be given to their parent or family Head."_

Hermione read the paragraph out loud as Harry and Ron grinned.

"Harry's got something on Malfoy then? He could challenge him, right?" Ron asked, eyes gleaming.

"No. Malfoy's a minor. It means he's underage. Harry would have to challenge his dad, as I think his father is the Head of his family as well." Hermione tapped the page. "It doesn't say anything about if the Head is a minor themselves. I don't think anyone ever considered it would be possible."

"Oh well." Harry gave a shrugged towards Hermione, and then looked at Ron. "Hey, do you think your brothers would mind helping me get back at the blond git then?"

"Oh, I think they could be talked into it very easily." Ron's grin was positively evil, as he considered getting to watch a prank instead of being on the receiving end of one. "But do you want to try to come up with something against Snape?"

"I'll come up with something, but I don't think he's done anything against my whole family, so I'm pretty sure I can't use any of this stuff against him."

Ron looked disheartened. "Dang it, I was hoping we could do something to him."

"Hey Hermione, do you think Madam Pince would have any more copies of this book in the library?"

"Probably Harry; you want to look up the traditions for the families?"

Harry grinned slightly. "Something like that."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

That evening found Harry in a hushed conversation with Ron's twin brothers Fred and George.

"So, what can the pranksters extraordinaire do for you Harry?" Fred asked.

"Malfoy insulted me last night during my detention, bringing my family into it. I'd like to return the favor. Could you guys make him look like something for me? Say, a lost Potter cousin for a day?" Harry explained.

The twins looked at each other, then bent their heads together, whispering. After a short moment, they looked back at Harry. "Sounds good with us. You'll let us handle it right? We'd love to have you in the prank, but I think you'll want to be innocent of actually doing anything."

Harry looked at them for a moment. "I really don't want to know what you're going to do to him, do I?" The twins shook their heads at him. "Alright, I'll just sit back and enjoy it. Is there anyway I can help though?"

George answered. "A couple strands of your hair would make it easier for us to do the prank."

Harry reached up to his head and pulled a pair of hairs from his head and handed them to George. "Anything else?"

"Nope. You'll see it tomorrow at breakfast. Don't know how long it will last, but at least an hour."

-

Harry sat at the Gryffindor table the next morning, surreptitiously watching the Slytherin table as everyone started to eat breakfast. Malfoy looked the same as normal unfortunately. His blond hair was still slicked back, and he sat at the table, ignoring the rest, only paying attention to his fellow Slytherins.

He felt a tap on his shoulder and looked up, seeing Fred standing there. "Mission accomplished. We'll see how long it takes to change him." Fred and George sat down near him, while on the other side of him Ron and Hermione sat. Ron grinned and looked up quite often at Malfoy, hoping to see what happened. Hermione looked at them all, silently berating them but not saying a word.

It was about fifteen minutes before the end of breakfast when Harry noticed it first started happening. Malfoy's hand kept brushing hair out of his face, as if it had fallen out of the gelled back look he normally wore it in. A minute later all of his hair had fallen down, covering his ears up and going over his eyes, looking quite a mess.

Malfoy stood up and glared at the room, mostly towards the Gryffindor table. Harry grinned openly at him now, as he watched Malfoy's normally bleach blond hair slowly start darkening, taking on first what looked to be black highlights, then a mix of black and blond hair, followed by looking more like blond highlights on black hair and finally ending up being fully black.

George nudged him. "Go ask him if he's part of your family."

Harry nodded and stood up, walking over to the Slytherin table where Malfoy was speechless, but quickly going into a rage. "Excuse me, but are you a member of the Potter family? You look quite a bit like I do."

Malfoy's eyes narrowed at him. "I am a pureblood member of…of…" He stuttered, trying to say his family name. His grey eyes flashed at him. "POTTER! You did this to me!"

Harry smiled at him. "You're a pureblood member of the Potters? How nice, I'm always glad to meet some of my family. But what did I do to you?"

Malfoy scowled. "I'll get you for this, Potter." He turned around and stalked off, heading for the dungeons where Harry presumed his dorm was.

Harry went and sat back down at the Gryffindor table, amidst howls of laughter coming from the Weasleys sitting there. Hermione even managed to smile at him slightly, though she shook her head at him as well.

"What'd you do to him so he couldn't say Malfoy?" Harry asked with a grin.

"Trade secret. Can't say a word about it." Fred smirked.

"You broke his interdiction by saying his name anyways." George added.

"But the change should last a little longer." Continued the first.

George looked at his twin in a conspicuous manner, and then stage whispered to him, "Hey, brother mine. You know what today is?"

"It would be the last day of the month, would it not?" Fred asked.

"Which would make tomorrow…" They both left hanging, and then turned to Ron.

Ron pushed a little further down the bench, pushing himself slightly into Hermione trying to keep away from his brothers.

"Ronnikens! It's your birthday tomorrow!"

Ron pushed himself away a bit more, forcing Hermione to stand up as Ron slid down the bench shaking his head. "No, no, no. Tomorrow's not my birthday, you two have got the family mixed up again." His eyes cast about, falling on Percy. "Tomorrow is Percy's birthday!" Ron almost shouted, bringing Percy's attention to them.

Percy looked over at them. "What is this about now?"

Ron looked at him, begging with his eyes. "It's not my birthday tomorrow, tell them, please."

Percy looked at the twins, and shuddered slightly. "Sorry Ronald, but where those two are involved, it's every Weasley for himself. It isn't my birthday though." Percy went back to talking with students from his year.

"Ah, so it is your birthday tomorrow Ronniekens! We know just the thing to get you." With that, the two got up and left the Great Hall, laughing and whispering to each other.

Ron sat back down next to Harry and seemed to attempt to sink into the bench. "I'm doomed."

Harry laughed. "Why Ron? What would they do to you?"

Ron winced. "How about managing to nick our Dad's wand and charm every last thing not stuck down in my room to turn into a spider and chase me?"

"Ouch, okay, maybe they are bad. But hey, they won't do anything permanent, right?"

"Maybe." Ron sounded unconvinced.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The next day, Ron walked around as paranoid as Harry had been after the Quidditch match.

"Mate, it's already been a half a day, and your brothers have done nothing to you." Harry laughed as they walked to Herbology. "Maybe they aren't going to do anything to you."

Ron shook his head. "No way. When they get like they were last night, there's no chance of them not doing something. They're just waiting for me to drop my guard."

Harry shrugged as they walked out of the school in the direction of the greenhouses. "Then nothing is going to happen. You're so jumpy you'd probably be afraid of Percy if he came by."

"Would not." Ron's eyes narrowed. "And it's only proper for me to be paranoid about those two. You saw, even Percy was afraid of what they'd do."

The two boys reached greenhouse 1 and Harry walked in. Ron pulled out his wand, cast another quick glance around and ducked in behind Harry. Once inside the greenhouse Ron glanced about in there, trying to keep his eye on everything at once. Harry sat down next to Hermione, whom was already there. Ron took looked hard at his stool before sitting down as well.

"There are two doors Ron. On opposite sides of the greenhouse. Not to mention, this _IS_ a greenhouse, which means it's pretty much all windows. Are you going to watch everything?" Harry laughed as Ron paled.

"Not funny. I can't keep watching for them out here. Maybe I should have skipped the class." Ron's head was now whipping back and forth, attempting to do just as Harry had said; watch everything at once.

"Ron, don't you dare attempt to skip your classes. You showed that you can at least remember things, so you had better pay attention to Professor Sprout and learn something." Hermione admonished Ron.

"Tell me where I'll use this class outside of it, and I'll try." Ron replied absently, still looking for his brothers. He then winced as he realized what he said and turned around to find Hermione's glare piercing him.

Hermione huffed. "Ronald Weasley. Do you have any idea what job you'll have when you grow up?" Ron shook his head. "Then you need to know it all, in case your job requires it."

"I won't get a job that requires Herbology then." Ron shrugged. "Besides-" Ron's eyes bulged. "Oh no, they're outside the greenhouse!" Ron ducked down below the workbench they were at, pointing at a window. "Keep them away from me."

Harry and Hermione turned to face where Ron was pointing. "I don't see them Ron. Are you sure you're not seeing things?" Ron shook his head, and Harry pulled him back up.

"Even if they are out there, class is starting. They won't interrupt a class." Hermione huffed. "At least they better not, or I'll be very mad at them." She paused for a moment, thinking, and then grinned. "You know Ron, they'd probably go away if you ignored them and focused on class."

"Alright, alright. I'll pay attention." Ron sulked as Professor Sprout started the day's lesson on Puffapods. Although, his eyes still darted around the greenhouse, seeking out his brothers and whatever awful prank they were going to pull.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"Come on Ron, food. Don't you want any? Aren't you hungry?" Harry beckoned Ron towards the exit of the common room.

Ron hunched down deeper into the overstuffed chair he had dragged into the corner of the common room. His eyes roved over the whole room, before landing on a table set up in front of the couch. "_Finite Incantatem._" Ron looked at Harry. "Starved, but I'm not giving those brothers of mine a chance to prank me. I'm staying right here, where I can keep an eye on the whole common room, and they can't sneak up on me." He pointed his wand at the chair he was sitting in and cast another "_Finite Incantatem."_ at it, before going back to watching the room.

"Suit yourself, but I'm not bringing you anything back to eat. It's against the rules to have food in the common rooms." Hermione looked at Ron and smiled at him. "They wouldn't prank you in front of the whole school during dinner, would they?"

"I'm not taking any chances. And they did to Malfoy, if you remember Hermione." Ron pointed his wand at a part of the wall. "_Finite Incantitum._ I wouldn't put anything past them at this point. They've only got a few more hours before my birthday is over, and they haven't done anything yet."

Harry shook his head and laughed. "Alright, whatever. I'm hungry, so I'm going to get some food. Enjoy your paranoia Ron." Harry turned and walked out of the common room.

Ron looked at Hermione. "Come on Hermione, would you please bring me something back? I know you won't let my brothers do anything to it. I'm not sure Harry would; he'd probably laugh to see them prank me."

"I said I wasn't. If you want food, come down." Hermione turned and walked towards the portrait hole.

Ron called out to her. "Please Hermione! I really am hungry, but I don't want them to do anything to me. I know they will."

Hermione's shoulders slumped slightly, and she turned back to Ron. "Fine, I'll try to get you some of the bread or something. It won't be much though, ok?"

Ron nodded gratefully. "Thanks Hermione, I owe you one."

-

"No Ron?" Fred asked as Harry sat down in the Great Hall.

"What do you think? He's upstairs in the common room, paranoid as all get out, shooting 'Finite Incantatem' at anything and everything thinking the two of you are going to prank him." Harry replied.

George shook his head. "We decided not to do anything to him. We love to prank him, but frankly? He was absolutely terrified of us last night. We're letting him have today with no pranks, so he can actually enjoy his birthday. We didn't want to terrify our brother."

"Really?" Came a voice from behind Harry, as Hermione sat down. "Did you two happen to mention that to Ron?" Fred and George shook their heads. "It's even worse then, I hope you two realize. He almost threw Seamus across the room when he tapped him on the shoulder from behind." She stared at Harry as she said that. "It was something you showed him Harry, during one of your lessons with him. Anyways, he hasn't enjoyed the day at all, waiting on the two of you to prank him." Hermione removed several of the rolls from a basket, and wrapped them in a napkin.

Harry shrugged. "Not my fault that Seamus walked up behind him. Ron's been edgy all day because of you two jokers." Harry motioned to Fred and George before turning back to Hermione. "I thought you said you weren't going to get anything for Ron?" He asked, noticing what Hermione was doing.

"He begged me. He would have asked you too, but he wasn't sure if you'd protect it from his brothers." Said brothers winced as Hermione explained.

"Alright, alright. We get it. We'll tell Ron that we're not pranking him today." George said. "We didn't think he'd be this bad all day." Fred insisted.

"I doubt that he's going to believe anything you two say today." Harry stated. He looked at them. "He's going to think you're just trying to get him to lower his guard."

Both twins shrugged. "We'll just leave him alone then."

They all finished eating, Hermione and Harry chatting about the day's lessons. Mostly Hermione going over them with a fine-tooth comb as Harry listened.

Once they were finished, Hermione stood up. "I'm going to go up and give this to Ron." She held up the food she'd held for Ron. "You coming Harry?" Harry nodded and stood up. She looked at the twins. "You two had better not come up anytime soon after us, I want Ron to actually be able to eat and not think we're all out to get him." They nodded.

Once the two had reached the Fat Lady's portrait they gave the password and walked in. Harry had to laugh, as the area around Ron's chair had been given a wide berth. Even Hermione grinned when another 'Finite' flashed from Ron's chair and hit the mantle above the fireplace.

"Hey Ron, hungry?" Hermione sat down on one arm of the chair, pulling out the folded napkins and handed them over as Harry sat on the other one. Ron gratefully grabbed them.

"Thanks Hermione." Ron said as he dug into the food. "I really owe you one."

"Just pay attention in classes, would you? We'll call it even if you do that." Hermione sighed.

"You know Ron, I would have brought you food too, if you'd asked. And I wouldn't let your brothers jinx any of it." Harry poked Ron. "Why didn't you ask me?"

"Because you might have thought it was funny. I knew Hermione wouldn't let them do anything to it."

"Alright I guess. But just to let you know, I wouldn't have." Harry shrugged, not overly bothered by it.

The rest of the night passed quietly, with only a few more "_Finite Incantatem_" being cast by Ron.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

**Potions Class, 2 weeks later**

Groaning slightly to himself, Harry slumped further down behind the workbench. Snape was definitely out for his blood today. Between the almost blatant attempts to make him and Ron mess up their potion to the scathing comments he had every time he walked by, Harry was ready to just leave the class behind permanently.

"Alright class. Your thickening potion should be done by now. I have samples of the potion it is supposed to go in on my desk. I'll call you up and you add it." Snape looked around at the classroom. "Mr. Malfoy, you're up first."

Malfoy stood up and walked to the front of the classroom with his potion. Throwing a smirk at Harry, he turned and added it to the potion on Snape's desk.

"Good color, and the potion is as thick as it's supposed to be. Full points Mr. Malfoy." Snape nodded as he wrote down the score. He went through the rest of his roster, before finally getting to Harry. "Potter, come up and try not to make a mess of things. Longbottom has already done that enough."

Standing up, Harry walked to the front of the room, making sure to dodge any of the Slytherins who might try to trip and make him drop the potion. Quickly making it to Snape's desk, Harry looked at him. "My potion, Instructor."

"Well? What are you waiting for Potter? Add it." Snape gestured to the flask half-filled with a light blue potion sitting on his desk.

Harry tipped the tube full of the almost clear potion into flask, watching as the two potions mixed together. The potion took on a green tint and instead of thickening, actually started to look even thinner then it was.

"Even Longbottom didn't do that bad _Potter_. You can't even make a simple alteration to a potion? What a foolish boy! It was supposed to become a deeper blue and get thicker, not thinner you complete idiot. I swear, you and your father are exactly alike. No good for anything useful yet everyone fawns over you… though I suppose that's not quite true; At least you did _something_ right once. I bet your father couldn't even claim that. It's no wonder the Potter family has fallen down to a single member if it has idiots like you in it."

Harry started, and then glared back at the Potions teacher. "May I see you after class, sir?"

"If it's to beg for me to change your grade, don't bother." Snape waved him off.

"Oh, it's not about that. Please do stay, sir." Harry's voice was low as he said it, then turned around and calmly walked back to his table. Reaching it he sat down and dug into his pack, pulling out a piece of paper.

Ron looked at him. "What'd you say to the git up there Harry?"

"After he failed us for the potion, he made a few comments. I asked to stay after class to talk to him for a minute." Harry looked over the parchment, nodding to himself.

"Want me to stick around? And what's that?" Ron pointed to the paper, trying to get a good look at it.

Harry pulled it back, away from Ron, shaking his head. "No, you don't need to stay. And if it goes how it probably will, I'll show you this or a copy of it this evening, alright?"

Ron nodded, but before he could say anything else Snape spoke up.

"Class dismissed. Get out of here before any more potions end up ruined." Snape called out.

Everyone packed up and left, with Ron pulling Hermione out of the classroom. Once Harry was the only student left, he got up and approached Snape's desk.

"So Potter, what do you want? I told you begging for a grade change wouldn't work, although you could try it. I'd enjoy seeing it." Snape's malevolent glare was held back by nothing now, as there weren't any others to see him.

Harry shook his head and took a deep breath, thinking his next words over carefully. "Professor Snape." Snape raised an eyebrow. "I am Harry Potter, head of the Potter family. I have ignored the slights and insults you have cast on me, since they only were about me. Today, you brought my family into your insults. I would request of you an apology now, along with a promise to not bring my family into anything you have to say about me ever again."

Snape sat back in his chair, smirking to himself. "Well Potter, I refuse to apologize for any remarks I have made. I made them in earnest, considering them not insults, but true statements. If you cannot accept the truth, then that is a problem of yours, not mine."

Harry nodded slightly. "As you think. As the Head of the Potter family, I have several demands that I will now make, but I only want the first met right now. Any more slurs on my family name and I will make the next demand." He handed him the parchment Ron had wanted to see earlier.

"As you can see, my demands are not difficult. I wish for an apology from you, here in private. No one need know. If you continue to insult me, I will require a second apology, publicly, in front of as many people as you insulted me. If you insist on continuing, I will require a written apology for any and all insults, including those you have already made an apology for and given out to any who may ask you for it. A fourth offense and I would require you to surrender money for both insults, and anything the insults would happen to cause destruction to. Such as a potion cauldron. If you still do not desist on insulting me and my family, I will demand that your family Head officially remove you from your family." Harry stated, almost as if he had memorized the speech beforehand.

Snape glared at him, then crumbled up the parchment and threw it aside. "You listen here boy." He hissed at Harry, his eyes narrowed. "I will make no such apology, written or spoken, private or public. Get out of here, before I give you detention for the rest of the school year."

"If you insist. I will be writing your family Head explaining this then." Harry turned around with his pack, leaving Snape sitting at his desk.

-

That evening at dinner, Harry shared a copy of the letter he had given to Snape with Ron and Hermione.

"You're crazy Mate! A good crazy, but still. You didn't really expect him to actually listen to you, did you?" Ron was stunned.

Hermione's reaction was quite different. "Harry, Professor Snape hasn't done anything to you to warrant this kind of treatment. How could you?"

Harry looked first to Ron, then to Hermione. "No, I didn't expect him to listen to me Ron. I had to do it though. I told him I'd send this to his family Head if he didn't. And Hermione, he insulted my whole family, my dad and me especially. I have every right to demand an apology for that."

Hermione went quiet, and didn't comment farther. Instead she just turned to her food, eating silently.

Harry turned back to the paper on the table, signing it.

_To Mr. Glastu Snape;_

_I am Harry James Potter, Head of the Potter family. While I am only a student at Hogwarts, I still expect to not be ridiculed and belittled by a member of your family. I have included a small list of demands for your nephew, Severus Snape. I would only require him to meet each demand once, and only one at a time. The demands are not at all hard for the first three and yet he refuses to even consider an apology. I would ask that you, as Head of the Snape family, to make him agree to my demands. They bring no shame to the Snape family except for my last demand, and if he has not learned his lesson by then, I myself would not want such a person in my own family._

_Thank you for your patience,_

_Harry J. Potter_

Harry folded the letter up and stuffed it into an envelope. He took one last look at the demand list, folded it and added it to the envelope as well. He closed the envelope, and then placed his finger over it, tapping the fingernail with his wand. It felt like a pinprick on the other side of his finger, and when he removed it, there was a red spot covering the seal on the envelope.

"What's that?" Hermione asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"Family blood seal. Apparently, I have to do that on any letters I send as a family Head, so that it's official." Harry explained.

Ron slowed down his own eating to ask a question. "Where in the world did you learn all that stuff anyways?"

Harry grinned at Ron, then motioned to Hermione, whose eyes widened. "Hermione. She found the book when we were looking for stuff on Malfoy remember? I checked out another copy, and found out all that stuff. Really boring to read, but kinda fun to use on Snape."

"Harry, you shouldn't have!" Hermione was now staring wide-eyed at him. "You…you..." She was actually at a loss for words.

"I waited until he actually insulted my whole family Hermione. I could have tried to do something whenever he insulted me, but I didn't." Harry shrugged and continued, "Not my fault if he can't help but insult me."

He handed the letter to Hedwig, who was waiting patiently while picking at pieces of food from Harry's plate. "Hedwig, take this to Glastu Snape, alright? Can you find him?"

Hedwig hooted and preened herself.

"Guess she can." Ron laughed.

Harry let her grab hold of the letter, then tied it loosely to her foot. "Go for it then girl." Hedwig took off from the Gryffindor table and went right out the window heading for wherever Glastu Snape was.

* * *

And that would be the end of this chapter ladies and gents. Thank you for all the lovely reviews, even some of the more scathing ones. grin I do apologize for taking longer than normal for updates, but it's been a rough week. Family had to come first.

Verhasa, does this meet your expectations?

Nyeshet, 1? Haven't thought of that, but the Chi you're talking about has side effects. It messed with his broom, if you'll remember. And 2? The problem lies with the fact that Harry's magical core is different than anyone else's as well. He probably wouldn't be able to find their core.

Raphael. You accidentally anon reviewed twice. I killed the dupe. ;) Dudley is in his own story, Nine Months without my Cousin. If you mean will we ever see him at Hogwarts, that'd be telling, wouldn't it?

Read and review, as always folks.


	18. Chapter 17

**Clay Pinions**

By Lochar 

Disclaimer: I've said it before and I'll say it again, an elephant's faithful, one hundred... Oh, oops. Wrong slogan. I don't own Harry Potter or Xenogears.

Chapter 17

* * *

It was a few days later when Hedwig returned. During the morning breakfast, she swooped down and landed on the table in front of Harry. Holding out her talon, Harry untied the envelope. He looked up at the head table and saw a midnight black owl delivering a letter to Snape as well.

Grinning, Harry turned to Ron and Hermione. "I think I got my response from Snape's uncle."

Ron grinned back while Hermione just shook her head. "Harry, do you really think that he is going to listen to a minor?"

"Snape got a letter as well though. Let's see what mine says."

Harry turned the envelope over to the back, noticing it had a blood seal as well. He broke the seal and pulled out the parchment inside.

_To Mr. Harry Potter;_

_As unfortunate as it is that you must take on the reins of Head as a child, I will still give you the respect deserving of a family Head regardless. As to the matter of my nephew, he should also be receiving a letter from me. I will acquiesce to your first demand, that of Severus giving you a private apology. I am also requiring of him to keep any comments about you and the Potter family to himself. However, I will not take him to task again. Should he make any more undue comments, you should take action yourself as your family Head. So I do strongly suggest that you show him proper respect as a teacher as well, and not purposely draw his ire._

_Glastu A. Snape_

Harry looked up from the letter and wordlessly passed it to Hermione. "That does say what I think it says, right Hermione?"

She took the letter and read it over herself. And then looked it over again. "He's saying that he is going to make Professor Snape apologize but he won't do it again, so you should not try to make him mad." She looked the letter over one more time. "That's about it."

"Can I see it? I've gotta see this." Ron asked.

Harry nodded and Hermione handed the paper over. Ron quickly looked it over as well. He stood up, paper in hand. "Hey!" he started to shout.

Harry quickly grabbed his arm and yanked him back down in his chair. "What in the world do you think you're doing Ron?" he hissed at him.

Ron looked hurt. "I was just going to tell everyone that the git finally got what was coming to him."

"And that would have been exactly what was warned against. Besides Ron, it's going to be a private apology, remember?" Harry shook his head and grabbed the letter back.

"You'll let us be there though, right?" Ron asked with a grin.

Hermione sighed. "It's between Harry and Professor Snape, Ron. And what part of 'private' don't you understand?"

"But what about your cloak Harry? I've gotta see it. Snape's never apologized to anyone, as far as Bill and Charlie told me." Ron's eyes pleaded with Harry.

But Harry shook his head no. "Sorry Ron, but no. I demanded a private apology from him, so that's what I going to do. You guys knowing about it is enough. Just don't tell anyone, alright?"

Hermione nodded and they both looked at Ron.

"Oh, alright." Ron paused for a moment, and then whispered gleefully. "But look at Snape!"

Harry and Hermione turned to the head table, where the Potions Master was going between reading his own letter and glaring down at the Gryffindor table.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

It was two days later in Potions that Harry expected to receive his apology from Professor Snape. He wasn't disappointed.

Snape walked up to the table where he and Ron were making a potion. "Mr. Potter, you will stay after class. We have an earlier discussion to finish."

Harry looked up at him and nodded. "Yes sir."

Without another word, Snape turned around and strode back to his desk.

Ron leaned over and whispered very quietly to Harry. "Think he's going to do it after class?" Harry nodded. "You sure we can't stay to hear it?"

Harry glared at him slightly and shook his head. "You already said you wouldn't, remember?"

"Had to try again though." Ron nodded and they both turned back to the potion they were working on.

Once class ended, Harry and Ron quickly cleaned up. Ron gathered his stuff up and went over to Hermione, pulling her out the door. She made to wait, but with a few whispered words she nodded and they both left.

Harry packed his bag as well and sat it on the table before walking up to Snape's desk. "You wanted me to stay after class, Professor?"

Snape nodded and sighed. "Yes I did Potter. I realize that you owled my family Head in response to… certain things that happened about a week ago in this classroom, am I correct?" Harry nodded. "He is a very private man, so I doubt I would be able to read the letter he sent you, and you would not be able to read the letter he sent me. I will give you your apology, but first I wish to say a few things to you." Snape paused with a scowl at Harry.

Harry gulped and nodded.

"First off. After this, I demand that you show me the respect due to a Hogwarts Professor. I did find out about your reasons for calling me Instructor, and I do not approve of them." Harry nodded easily. "My second remark is this. While I do not expect or even wish that you would get along with my Slytherins, I would like for you to refrain from insults against their own families as well. You are a family Head, and you should act like it. If you abuse your slight power, I, and other important families will put you into your place."

"Yes sir Professor." Harry nodded quickly. "As long as I am not first insulted, I will not insult any Slytherin's family."

"I guess that is… fair enough." Snape grimaced at that. "In any case, I offer my... apologies... Mr. Potter. My grievances are not towards you for the most part, but towards your family. I will endeavor to make those comments only to the person they pertain to. While I still stand by the comments I have made against you in particular, I will attempt to treat you as you deserve to be treated."

Harry's eyebrows rose. _More than I expected, really._ "I accept your apology Professor Snape. May I be excused so that I am not late to my next class?"

"Get out of here, Potter. Keep quiet in your lessons and I will do the same with you." Snape waved him off, before turning and walking into his office, cloaking billowing behind him.

Harry nodded to his back and turned around himself. He grabbed his bag and quickly headed out the door. He caught up to Hermione and Ron outside of the Transfiguration classroom and went inside with them.

-

There was only one word for Hermione right now. Frantic. Harry smiled to himself, as she was a whirlwind of activity, pulling all of her notes from the year.

"We've only got two months until exams you two! We need to start studying and making sure we know everything that we were taught." She pulled another stack of paper out from somewhere, separating and piling them according to subject. "Come on you two, if you don't pass these, do you know what will happen?"

Harry tilted his head, curiously grinning. "Actually, no I don't Hermione. What will happen?"

Ron took a step back, throwing Harry a look that clearly said 'You're on your own.' He sat down in a chair to watch.

Hermione turned around. "We'll be held back! We'd have to repeat first year again! I'd miss out on learning all the new spells, and you two would get farther than me, and if I do really horribly, they may even send me home, not to come back!" Hermione managed to stream it out in a single breath, the horror of failing completely written over her face.

Harry had to take a step back from the onslaught. "Calm down Hermione; Breathe for heaven's sake." She took a deep breath. "Good. Listen to me. You're the smartest witch in our year. I haven't seen a spell yet that you couldn't do, and you've just about memorized every one of our textbooks."

Hermione flushed with the praise.

Ron snickered a bit. "Managed to calm her down a bit, mate?"

"But- but- You still have a lot easier time with the spells than I do. I can't do them all perfectly. And even Ron knows some of the history about spells and things that I don't know. What am I to do? They're going to throw me out!" Hermione started wailing again.

"Spoke too soon." Ron managed to laugh out.

Harry waved a hand at Ron. "Hermione." She ignored him, turning back to her pages, frantically making even more notes on them. "Hermione." Still ignored, even Harry had to grin a little bit. He coughed, changing his voice a bit. "Ms. Granger, twenty points if you don't turn around this instant!"

Hermione, reacting more to the threat of lost points than any voice Harry might have been trying, dropped her notes and quickly spun around. Noticing Harry's smile, and no prefects or the Head Boy, she scowled. "Harry Potter…" she nearly growled. "We have to make sure we'll pass, or we'll get into so much trouble."

Sighing, Harry still had to chuckle slightly at Hermione's insistence. "Like I said, there's no way you'd ever fail Hermione. Let's pick a subject, and I'll prove it." He grabbed a random sheet of paper from her stacks. "Transfiguration." He looked at it better. "Hermione, just looking at this, you're not going to fail. This is from the next chapter in the book."

Hermione blushed. "If I study it now, hopefully I can do it well enough in class. Harry, I need those notes. I'm not done with them yet!" She made a grab for them, but Harry pulled them away.

"Let me test you with them real quick. Hmm… Alright. How would you turn a goose feather into a usable quill?" Harry asked after looking over the paper.

"If you'll give me my notes back, I can tell you. They're not done yet." Hermione huffed and held out a hand for the notes.

Harry shook his head. "Come on, these notes look perfect to me. Explains it well enough that I could do it right now, I think." He paused. "Hey, that's an idea. Ron, go upstairs and grab one of the pillows. We'll let Hermione's notes explain it, and we can try it."

Ron nodded, and ran upstairs to their dorms.

Hermione looked fretful. "But Harry, my notes are nowhere near done, and if it doesn't explain it well enough, you might mess something up and hurt yourself. Or Ron could hurt himself as well. You don't need to do this, just give me my notes. Please?"

"Hermione," Harry laughed slightly. "We haven't had to do a spell yet that your notes have failed us on. Remember, we use them too if we can't do it."

Hermione made several more attempts to get Harry to return her notes before Ron came back down, but to no avail.

Once Ron had come back down, they sat down looking over Hermione's notes. Hermione wrung her hands, seemingly scared that her notes wouldn't be up to par.

Ron made a rip in the pillow and pulled out a handful of feathers as Harry looked at the notes. "Let's see… Ron, first thing you need to do is stretch the feather longer. As long as a quill."

Ron nodded. He tapped the end of the feather, then tapped the tip. Leaving his wand touching the tip, he pulled his wand up to the length of a quill, the feather lengthening out to match where he was pulling his wand. He pulled his wand up, and the feather quit growing. "Next?"

Harry looked back down at the notes. "Widen it. Tap the center of the feather, pull left, and then do it to the right."

Ron did so, pulling the feather left with his wand. The lopsided look lasted long enough for Ron to tap the center again, and pulled right this time. "It's getting hard to hold it this way. Hurry up, what's next?"

"Harden the stem of the feather quill. Trace your wand down the stem, then swish and tap the nub of the quill with 'Congelo'."

Ron traced his wand down the stem, his hands starting to shake. _"Congelo!"_ he called out tapping the new writing nub, and the feather quill shimmered. "Come on Harry, hurry. I can't hold it much longer before I mess it up."

Quickly reading the last instruction, Harry grinned. "Finish it with a flick and 'Stabilis'. Then it should hold itself."

Ron flicked his wand quickly at the quill, and called out the spell, "_Stabilis!" _

The new quill seemed to shiver on its own, before Ron let out a loud breath. "Merlin that was hard. But I got it done. See Hermione? Your notes are good enough that I can do it the first time."

Harry looked down at the notes. Picking up his own wand, he swirled it in a tight circle before pointing his wand at the quill, and called out, "_Reverto Exemplar!"_ The newly made quill shrunk down and turned back into the feather. "The reverse spell works too." He looked back down at the notes. "You've already done this spell, haven't you Hermione?"

"Wh- what makes you think that Harry?"

Ron looked between the two of them. "Your notes were awfully specific. I don't think you could have gotten that much just from the book. You practiced it, making your own notes, didn't you?" At Hermione's stare, Ron shrugged. "I'm not that thick. The rest of the book doesn't give that much detail, we have to learn it from McGonagall. You figured it out yourself didn't you?"

Hermione's face reddened. "Alright, alright. I did. Mainly because of what Professor Maison said to us, Harry. If I can get ahead of the class and be able to work the spells more often, I'll be able to do more powerful magic quicker."

"Ahh… And if you can do the spells ahead of time, and be able to do even more powerful spells, there's no way you'd be held back." Harry looked at Ron, grinning. "So Ron, do we make her finish up now, or do we just take her notes so she'll be done?"

"You two will do no such thing! I'll pack up. If you two took my notes, I'd never get them back in order. Then I would end up being kicked out of Hogwarts." Hermione smiled at them, and then started collecting her strewn about notes and books.

Harry laughed and stood up, helping Hermione as well. "Good. I didn't want to have to take them. Besides, you'd probably just take them back during my lesson with Professor Maison in the morning."

The trio managed to quickly clean up all of Hermione's notes and books, then headed up for their respective beds.

-

"Hermione's probably gonna be mad that she missed watching, you know Harry?" Ron commented while the two of them were on their way to the Muggle Studies classroom the next morning.

"Can't help it if she didn't wake up in time. We can't go up the staircase to wake her up, remember the first time you tried it?" Harry laughed.

Ron turned red, but laughed as well. "Hey, I didn't know the stairs were going to do that. It's not my fault."

Quickly finishing their walk downstairs, Harry pushed open the door into the classroom. Like always it was set up for his lessons, training mats covered the ground. Professor Maison sat in the middle of the room, eyes closed, meditating.

Ron sat down against a wall, while Harry started doing his warm-ups. After a minute, Maison opened his eyes. "Good morning Mr. Potter. I heard you had an interesting day yesterday."

Harry lost his balance in the middle of a kick and fell over. He quickly stood back up. "I might have sir. It was a private interesting though."

"Undoubtedly. Although, another person may not have been so private about it." Maison said. Harry looked at Ron, who shook his head. "In any case, continue with your warm-ups. Mr. Weasley, it wouldn't hurt you to at least go through the basic warm-ups as well, if Mr. Potter is teaching you. You need to stay in shape and limber."

Ron stood up and joined Harry. They went through the warm-up exercises for another fifteen minutes, before Ron sat back down and Harry stood before Professor Maison.

"You've been practicing controlling your Chi, correct?" Maison looked Harry over.

Harry nodded. "Yes sir. I think I've got it too."

Maison raised an eyebrow. "It only took you a couple of months. I'm impressed. Let me see." At this, Maison's eyes unfocused and Harry felt the Chi being channeled. Maison's eyes refocused, but Harry could sense a passive power behind them. "Alright, channel a small amount into each of your fingers. Leave your palm and thumb free of energy."

Harry did as Maison requested, easily splitting his Chi into four separate flows.

"Now, I want you to pull the energy from your ring finger into your palm, then channel it into your thumb."

Harry did as requested once more, and Maison nodded.

"Good. Now, the whole purpose of learning such fine control was this: Harry, I want you to channel the same amount of Chi that you normally push into you hand, _around_ your hand instead. Like so." Maison demonstrated, and Harry could sense Maison's Chi wrapped around the outside of his hand. Harry copied him.

Maison looked a little startled. "Very good. Very quick, as well. Now, what you can do with this Chi is actually quite interesting. Can you, for lack of a better word, harden it around your hand?" To Harry, the Chi around Maison's hand seemed to become much denser. "This is the best as I am able to make it. Can you sense the difference?"

Harry nodded, and thought about it for a moment. "Did you channel more Chi into it Professor?"

"No, I just strengthened it around my hand. Try it. Make it become solid, instead of just loose energy."

Harry concentrated for a few minutes, pushing at his Chi. Pushing it together made it smaller, but still moving energy. "I can't get it. Pushing it together doesn't do it, so how do I make it solid?"

Maison thought for a moment. "Hmm. How does it feel to you then, Mr. Potter? The Chi itself, when you channel it outside your hand or arm?"

"It's... moving. I give it shape, but the Chi moves around inside. That's how it feels to me." Harry said, after a moment of thought.

"Then, it is like water and you are a bowl?" Harry nodded tentatively. "Can you freeze the Chi, like water in a bowl? It would be solid then."

Harry took a breath and concentrated on his Chi. Controlling it, he stopped it from flowing around his hand. Instead, it now felt like a glove. "It feels like I'm wearing a glove of my Chi." Harry's voice was amazed.

"Perfect Harry. Just perfect. Now," Maison pulled his wand from somewhere in the workout clothes he was wearing and with a swish, a cement block appeared. "You've seen the students with Sensei Uzuki, breaking bricks and boards, correct?" Harry nodded. "Hold onto your Chi, and then punch the brick, as hard as you can. Don't make it any stronger than a normal punch, besides your 'glove' of Chi."

Harry looked at him, then nodded. _If I end up breaking my fist, at least I can get Madam Pomfrey to heal me._ Harry pulled his fist back, and punched at the block. Wrist locked, his fist hit the block, and the block cracked down the center. Harry felt the Chi surrounding his fist flare, and then there was much less of it. "Hey, I barely even felt the hit!"

"Your Chi absorbed the impact. As you can tell though, it used the Chi to buffer the hit. Your Chi is used up, lost, and you must channel more Chi into the barrier if you want to hit like that again. The stronger the punch, and the stronger the material, the more Chi you must use to protect your fist. If I do it, I can manage about two hits. I don't know what the depths of your Chi is like, but I know you have more Chi than I do. You could probably manage several more than I could. There's even a very advanced technique allowing you to extend your Chi barrier to a held item, making it almost unbreakable while you hold it."

Harry grinned at his Professor, then turned to Ron, who both could hear sputtering. Ron had a flabbergasted look on his face. "And you mean I won't be able to do this?" He waved to Harry and the brick.

Maison looked over to him. "You could, but it would take many years to learn to harness the Chi you have available. Part of the reason magic stunts your ability to use Chi, is magic is a pervasive energy. It seems to put a stop to the growth of other energies in your body. Harry will have a bit of a harder time gaining anymore amount of Chi as well."

Maison stood up and clapped his hands together. "Enough of the theory and Chi use today though Harry. We haven't sparred since before Christmas, so today will be a practical test of your ability. We'll spar, but no Chi, no magic."

Harry stood up. "Yes sir, Professor Maison." He got into a defensive position, his mind immediately slipping into the Void. He waited on his Professor.

Maison slipped into his own form, one Harry didn't recognize. Harry made a mental note of how he was standing, so he could try it later.

After a few moments of watching each other, Maison started off, pushing from his back foot, rolling into a roundhouse at Harry's head. Harry dropped low, trying to sweep Maison's single foot out from under him. A jump moved him back enough, landing on both feet. Harry came back up as well. Maison was in a basic karate stance now, and Harry slipped into a Tai Chi stance well suited for offense or defense. Nodding to himself, he went for the initiative this time.

Leading with a light jab from his front fist, the punch was knocked out of the way. He followed it with a heavier punch from his trailing hand, which connected with Maison's shoulder. Maison spun around, but caught himself enough to bring his leg up in a kick that caught Harry in the side. Harry was knocked down, and quickly jumped back to his feet while Maison stood waiting for him.

To Harry, his Chi seemed to be almost jumping, willing itself to be used. He ignored it, his vision tunneling towards Maison. Harry took a couple of steps back, then started circling Maison. His teacher just turned in place, watching Harry.

Harry stepped right again and then took several quick steps forward toward Maison. Jumping at him, he threw a snap kick towards Maison's head. Ducking under the kick, Maison grabbed Harry's leg, pulling him down onto the ground hard. Harry was stunned for just a moment then rolled away just as Maison's foot came down where his back had been. Climbing quickly back to his feet, Harry grinned.

This time, Harry threw a simple kick out at Maison's chest and his foot was grabbed. Harry spun, his other foot coming in unblocked, hitting Maison in the chest and knocking him down. Harry came down as well, his knee landing on the teacher's chest. "Do I win?" Harry grinned.

Maison shook him head. "Not yet; you are doing excellent though. But you forgot something important." At Harry's confused look, Maison's hands, which had been trapped underneath Harry, were still holding his leg; Maison lifted him up, throwing Harry off him and onto the floor. Maison stood up. "Don't leave your opponent any leverage points."

Harry felt Maison's Chi flicker for a moment, before it settled again. "I thought you said no Chi?"

"I did. But as you are currently in the Void, I assumed you wouldn't mind me using it as well, would you? Entering the Void has an effect your Chi momentarily." Harry backed up, his mind working overtime. _Blast it... I thought he was already using the Void._

Harry had no more time for frivolous thought, as Maison went straight after him. All of Maison's moves now seemed more precise, more controlled. Harry was hard pressed to keep blocking. A punch to his stomach was blocked, while another fist seemed to appear, going for his collar. Barely averting that, Harry was forced to jump backwards to avoid the kick sent towards his knee. Landing from the jump, Harry was knocked back by an open hand pushed into his stomach. Harry fell to the ground and Maison jumped at him. He had no time to dodge and found Maison's own knee pressed into his throat, one arm pinned by Maison's bodyweight sitting on it, the other because he had landed on his arm.

"That is how you should pin someone. Especially since I weigh about two kilos more than you do, the way you tried it would not have worked. Do you yield?" Maison's voice was serious, but his eyes were dancing with laughter.

Harry grinned at him. "Yeah, yeah. Guess I need to learn when to keep my big mouth shut, don't I?"

Maison stood up, pulling Harry along with him. "Most likely, yes. Your form is excellent though, and you have a great deal of skill, especially for one as young as you are." Maison pulled out his wand again, which didn't even look like it had been touched. He waved it at the classroom, the mats dissolving and turning into his desks. "That's enough for today. You two go ahead and have a good day. Mr. Wood probably has your Quidditch practice scheduled again."

Ron grinned. "If it wasn't for classes, Harry'd probably have practice every day, for ten hours a day."

"Don't say that Ron. I'll be scarred for life." Harry shuddered, and then laughed. "Thank you for the lesson, Professor Maison."

"You're welcome. Now you two enjoy the rest of your day. I've got papers to grade." With that, Maison sent them both off.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The next two weeks for the trio went by quickly.

Potions class went quietly, since Harry made sure to partner with Ron, and Professor Snape was studiously ignoring Harry for the time being. Hermione's potions were always exactly as required to be, so she didn't get into trouble.

All three of them had managed to get House points in Transfiguration when they were able to turn feathers into quills on their first tries. They were now waiting for the rest of the class to catch up, and both Ron and Harry were pushing forward with the help of Hermione to learn the spells ahead of time. Both boys wanted to be able to cast stronger spells quicker just as much as Hermione did.

Quidditch practices with Oliver were great. Harry seemed to be picking up a sixth sense to where the Snitch was. The Ravenclaw-Hufflepuff match had went to Ravenclaw, so it was between Ravenclaw and Slytherin for deciding whom Gryffindor would be playing at the end of the school year. Oliver had gone slightly crazy going over old plays by both teams, and the whole team had been force to memorize counter-plays.

After the few words of praise Professor Maison had for Harry, he now drove him even harder to get better. The lessons in the next two weeks were much harder, focusing on his martial arts instead of even starting a new technique with his Chi. To Harry, he seemed to spend half the time on his butt, and half the time on his feet being knocked back on his butt. But he was having fun.

Therefore, it was a shock to the three of them when they saw Professor Kettleburn levitating a stretcher with a crying student towards the hospital wing. The Professor was looking worried and shaking his head.

"I'm just a Squib! Send me back home, don't let the OWL examiners know!" The girl wailed. "Please, just let me go home." Her voice trailed off as the stretcher and Professor Kettleburn disappeared into the castle.

Harry looked at Ron and Hermione. "Weird. Wonder what that was all about?"

"Honestly. Didn't you two know? That's the third person in Professor Kettleburn's classes to go into hysterics. A third year girl in Hufflepuff and a sixth year boy in Slytherin." Hermione looked at the two of them.

"And how'd you know about it?" Ron asked.

Hermione shrugged. "It's about all the rest of the girls in my dorm talk about. I don't get into gossip, but it's hard to ignore if that's all you hear the whole night."

Harry gave Hermione a look. "As far as I know, guys don't gossip. So how were we supposed to know?" She shrugged. "Wonder what's causing it?" He thought out-loud.

"I don't know. But for some reason, they're supposedly perfectly fine after a few hours." Hermione looked down towards where Professor Kettleburn had come from. "I think the Professor came from the Forbidden Forest, near Hagrid's hut."

Harry grinned, nudging Ron. "Hey, let's go see if we can figure out what's causing it." He stood up, Ron quickly standing up as well.

Hermione's face went white. "But… What if it happens to the two of you? You don't want to get hurt do you?"

"Hey, you said they're fine after a few hours, right? Then even if it happens to us, we'll be fine." Ron laughed. "Come on Hermione. You can follow behind us, and if something happens grab a Professor, ok?"

"Alright, but just to keep you two out of trouble." Hermione stood up as well.

All three walked towards Hagrid's hut, chatting quietly. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary.

"Maybe Hagrid knows something about it. Wanna go ask him?" Harry asked, once they were near the Forbidden Forest. They all stopped.

"That's a good idea, Harry. Maybe it's something from the forest, and Hagrid is the Keeper of the Grounds and Keys, so he should know." Hermione nodded.

Ron shrugged. "Fine with me, I don't have a better idea. Let's go."

Turning, the trio started towards Hagrid's hut. Halfway there, Harry's arm shot out, grabbing Hermione and Ron and stopping them.

"Hold on. There's something…" Harry was quiet. It was an oppressive feeling. Something felt like it was pressing against him. Quickly bringing the Void around himself, he felt something trying to pull his Chi. "It feels like there's something trying to use my Chi."

Ron yawned. "That's all well and good. Come on, let's go talk to Hagrid," Ron yawned again. "before I fall asleep standing here."

Harry gave Ron a strange look, and then looked at Hermione. "You feel alright?"

"Yes, I'm okay. Do you think whatever happened to those other students is happening to Ron?" Hermione asked.

Harry gave one more look at Ron. "Maybe. Come on, let's go ask Hagrid before Ron here starts crying about tests." Harry grinned.

"H- h- hey!" Ron managed through another yawn. "Since when would I ever cry about a test?"

They had only managed a few more steps when Harry felt the pressure pushing against his Chi double. Hermione spoke up just then as well.

"Harry?"

"Hmm?" he replied, distracted by trying to keep whatever it was away from his Chi. _Maybe…_ Trying Professor Maison's trick of making his Chi solid, Harry felt the pressure against him now slide around his Chi, instead of trying to push into it.

"Are you sure they're not going to kick me out of school at exam time?" Hermione's voice trembled.

Harry rolled his eyes. "Didn't we go over this a couple of weeks ago? You're probably going to get perfect scores…" He trailed off, realizing how Hermione's voice sounded. "Bugger. I think it's now affecting you too Hermione." Harry stopped again, grabbing Ron who stumbled.

"Alright, you two stay here. I think I can keep it from affecting me. Hermione, if I don't come back after twenty minutes in Hagrid's hut, get a Professor, alright?"

"But Harry-" Hermione began, but Harry waved her off. "All right, fine. Twenty minutes. Then I'm going to get Professor McGonagall."

"Fine with me." Harry walked off, leaving the other two standing where they were.

"Think I'm gonna take a nap, Hermione. Wake me up whenever." Ron yawned again, then sat down on the grass. Lying back, he sprawled out and was asleep in seconds.

Harry quickly got to Hagrid's hut and knocked on the door. "Hey Hagrid, it's Harry! Can I come in?"

"Shure! C'mon in Harry! Door's open, I can't get it right now." Hagrid's voice came from behind the door.

Harry opened the door and couldn't decide whether to laugh or gasp. What looked to be a small, furry stone was actively trying to rip the flesh off of Hagrid's overly large finger, and Hagrid was happily trying to feed said finger to the creature.

"He's teething Harry!"

* * *

End of Chapter. :) Points if you can guess what pet Hagrid's got this time.

OK, got some author notes for ya.

Normally I don't feed the trolls, but the anon reviewer 'finally' got on my nerves. For one, that was your first review. If you had problems with my story before now, why have you kept reading and not commenting? And as for your HIGHLY EDUCATED (your caps, not mine) opinion, I don't give a flip. Go back to school, learn to spell, what the word grammar means, and correct use of capitalization before you come back. Oh, and please don't hide behind an anon name. Give me your email address, or send one to me. Mine's posted on my profile. I'd like to correct your review and send it back to you.

As for the rest of my reviewers, thanks for sticking in there with me. While this chapter may have seemed to pander towards the idiot mentioned above, it wasn't. Hogwarts is a BIG school. One kid can't make that many changes, at least not in the first few days, weeks, months, etc. Things are going to go differently, but why would something as big as Hogwarts be different, if there hasn't been anything to change it?

Lessons with Maison are every Saturday. Do you really want me to go over rote lessons? Really? I don't mention them all the time, as it's just practice and whatnot, except when a new technique gets intro'd. Then you get that lesson. I can't give him a new technique every day. Same reason as why I don't give Harry a gear. It blows the whole system out of proportion.


	19. Chapter 18

**Clay Pinions**

**By Lochar**

Disclaimer: Do you want to pay 8.99 or more for this story? I thought not. So I don't own Harry Potter, and you don't have to pay to read this. Except maybe with reviews.

A/N: Thank you ff. net for blowing away all my hit stats with your recent hiccup. As such, it now looks like I've been reviewed more times than people have actually hit the story. ;) So, let's help me get my hit stats back up, k?

Chapter 18

* * *

Harry warily eyed the creature that was sitting on the hut's large table, attempting to devour the finger of the gamekeeper. "Hagrid? What in the world is that?" 

The little creature turned at Harry's voice. Suddenly, the oppressive feeling that permeated the area stopped and pushed directly against his Chi, seemed to focus solely on him. Instead of being just a push at his entire well of Chi, now it seemed to be a focused point trying to drill past the solid Chi barrier protecting the well inside his Void.

Harry's eyes snapped shut as he stumbled away from the table and fell back into a chair. The creature's eyes followed Harry's form. Peering into the Void, he saw a strange bluish energy trying it's best to lance through his Chi barrier. Each hit seemed to chip away a small amount of the barrier surrounding his actual Chi. Each time a part of the barrier broke, it seemed to be absorbed into the energy. Frowning, Harry made the barrier as hard as he possibly could and the energy spike stopped breaking the barrier, but continued ramming against it.

Harry opened his eyes to find Hagrid staring at him. "What's the matter Harry?"

"What IS that thing, Hagrid? It's trying to… do something to my Chi." Harry shook his head to try and clear it.

Hagrid looked at the little creature on his table. "Meh Pogrebin? Couldn't be Harry. They aren't able to do anything ta people till they're over a year old. E's just a cute little thing right now; aren't ya boy?" Hagrid's huge hand dwarfed the little Pogrebin as he petted it. Hagrid lifted his hand and Harry saw the creature was now trying to chew through Hagrid's palm.

Once Harry was directly in sight of the creature again, the sharp lancing action took up a renewed pounding on his Chi. _Alright, let's see how whatever it is likes me fighting back_. Harry channeled a small portion of his Chi behind the barrier, hardening it into a tough block. When the energy again lanced against his barrier, Harry quickly opened it and pushed the block through as quickly as he could, right back at the lance.

The two competing energies met, and the blue lance lost. The little terror on Hagrid's table screeched when its attacking energy was literally blunted, and the lance quickly withdrew. Harry looked between it and Hagrid. "It attacked, I attacked it back Hagrid."

Hagrid nodded thoughtfully. "Mehbe it's a prodigy. Learns quickly."

Harry shrugged. "Whatever. It's dangerous Hagrid. It's hurt some of the students." He glanced down at his watch. "And I've got three minutes before Hermione goes after a Professor and drags them here to find out about this guy. Do you think you can keep him from draining and hurting the other students?"

"I can try Harry. I think there's a few books about containin' these guys in the library. Didn't think I'd need 'em though, not yet. The guy down at the pub I won 'im off of said he was still months away from being able to do anything. Guess that was why he was so glad to be rid of it."

"Alright Hagrid, I'm gonna go stop Hermione from getting a Professor. Have fun with him." Harry looked at the Pogrebin on the table and channeled his Chi through his hand, hardening it. "And if you try it on anyone again, I'll be back. You don't need to mess with anyone." The creature was staring at Harry's hand, seemingly absorbed in watching it. _Must be able to sense my Chi there._ Harry let the Chi in his hand return to him and then grinned at Hagrid. "Later."

"Have fun Harry!" Hagrid gave Harry a quick wave before turning back to his pet.

Getting outside, Harry found Hermione standing impatiently by the still sleeping Ron. "About time." She huffed, and then gestured at her watch. "You had _one_ minute left."

"I take it you're feeling better?" Harry asked, and Hermione nodded. "So once it focused on me, it quit messing with everyone else. Good." Harry stooped down and shook Ron. "Get up Ron, time to go."

"'It'? What is 'it', Harry?" Hermione looked perplexed.

Shaking Ron again, but not getting a response, Harry answered back. "Hagrid said that it was called a Pogrebin. It was trying to attack my Chi." Harry looked down at Ron, and laughed softly. "C'mon, Ron. Wake up!" Still getting no response, Harry turned to Hermione with a question on his face.

"What are you going to do to him, Harry?" Hermione's voice was tinged with both a slight bit of curiosity and censure.

Harry grinned. "Wake him up the hard way. Wanna help?" Hermione shook her head, and Harry shrugged. "Fine by me then." He pulled out his wand and pointed it at Ron. Channeling his magic through his wand, Harry gave a quiet "_Aqueious." _and water gushed out of his wand, hitting Ron straight in the face.

Ron sat up in a flash, spitting and sputtering water. "What in the bloody hell was that for, Harry!"

"Because you wouldn't wake up. Hermione saw it. I tried shaking you first, but you were sleeping even harder than you normally do in the mornings." He grinned as Hermione nodded. "See?"

"Yeah, yeah. I was having a good dream too. Had to ruin it, didn't you?" Ron grumbled. He stood up anyways. "And now I'm soaking wet. What am I supposed to do now?"

Hermione sighed, exasperated. "Are you, or are you not a wizard Ron?" She muttered a charm, and pointed her wand towards Ron. Instantly, his clothes were dry.

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Getting ahead of us again Hermione? I don't think Ron or I know that one."

Ron slung an arm around Hermione's shoulder. "She'll teach it to us though, right Hermione? Merlin knows you and your notes have kept us in front of the rest of Transfiguration at least." Hermione blushed at the praise. "You doing it to Charms too? Ya know Harry, we should have realized she'd be ahead of Flitwick as well."

Hermione swatted Ron's arm off her shoulder. "You should be able to do them too Ron. Our magical cores are a lot stronger because we've been working ahead of Professor McGonagall's classes." She looked at Harry. "We still need to look up the Pogrebin Hagrid has though. You said it was the cause of everyone's going slightly out of it?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah, I think so. At least, once I got into Hagrid's and the thing saw me, the push against my Chi was stronger and you said it quit affecting you."

"Come on then, let's go to the library and figure out what it's doing." Hermione quickly strode off, leaving Ron and Harry behind.

Ron looked over to Harry. "You do realize, that we're probably going to be stuck in the library for a week, just like the last time we got her looking something up don't you?"

Harry winced.

"Right. Come on. You got her started, I'm not going to be the only one to suffer." Ron started towards the castle as well, with Harry following behind, shaking his head.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

By the time Harry and Ron had meandered into the library, Hermione had already pulled a fairly thick book from one of the shelves. She brought it over to the table where she'd already had several books laid out.

"It's an older copy of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, but it should talk about Hagrid's pet Pogrebin." She explained. She opened it up and flipped through several chapters before stopping and reading out from one page.

"_Pogrebin_

_XXX_

_A creature native to Russia, it is small enough to be confused with a rock when it is still. Pogrebins will follow their chosen victims around, infusing them with a sense of hopelessness and depression. Once their victim has collapsed from these feelings, the Pogrebin will then attempt to eat them. These creatures are classed as Minor Dark Creatures because of their flesh eating and mental attacks. For more information, see Dark Creatures: Fact and Fiction."_

"It's not that bad of a creature, but how did it affect everyone outside of Hagrid's hut if it couldn't follow them around?" Hermione looked questioningly at Harry.

"I don't know, but it seemed to need to be able to see me to do anything directly to me. And I think it gives people those feelings by draining their Chi." At the looks from Hermione and Ron, he shrugged. "Hey, everyone has a little bit of Chi. It's your life force."

"Was it affecting Hagrid too, Harry?" Ron sounded a little worried, but Harry shook his head. "Why wouldn't it take his Chi then?"

"I don't know. Hagrid's a really big guy… maybe he's got a lot of untapped Chi, and his pet couldn't take it fast enough to make a difference to him?" Harry shook his head. "Doesn't matter anyways. It's his pet, and as long as it doesn't hurt anyone else, we don't really have to worry about it."

Ron nodded. "So, we just keep away from it then?"

"That'd be the best thing to do Ron." Hermione said, looking up from her book. "If you're not near it, it can't hurt you."

Ron quickly stood up, closing several of the unused books in front of them. "Alright, I'm putting these up and then getting out of here. Harry, you coming with me?"

"Sure, why not." He looked to Hermione. "I guess you're staying in here?" She nodded. "Figures. Have fun."

Harry and Ron quickly shelved the books and left, leaving Hermione behind, whom was already pulling new books down.

As they walked out, Ron looked back at Hermione and laughed quietly. "Nutters, I tell you, Harry. Nutters. Her fun is reading books. What makes that fun?"

Harry looked back at Hermione as well and shrugged. "It's her fun, Ron. I like to fly and that's fun to me. Maybe we'll try to pull her into something else. But right now, isn't it your turn to be beaten up?"

Ron laughed. "Yeah, yeah. Come on then. Maybe Professor Maison will be there and can at least give me a few tips on how to stay on my feet longer."

"One word, Ron." Harry stopped and grinned. Ron stopped as well and turned to face him. "Jump. I don't know how many times I kicked your feet out. If you'd jump over the kicks, you might last more than ten seconds."

Ron winced at Harry's comment, then grinned ruefully. "Yeah, yeah. You're probably right. I don't like bouncing around as much as you do when you're sparring against Professor Maison."

Harry started walking again, heading towards the Muggle Studies classroom while talking to Ron. "My style is more… movement, but against someone like my cousin, I wouldn't have to move as much. Professor Maison forces me to move a heck of a lot more because I have to dodge so many of his attacks. Kinda like when you have to dodge me."

"Oh, ok. I still don't like all that blasted bouncing though." Ron grinned his response back at Harry.

When they reached the Muggle Studies classroom, the boys found that Professor Maison had changed the classroom again. The practice mats were laid out, but he had left his desk unchanged. Maison was sitting at it, going over some papers.

He looked up and nodded at them. "Hey you two. I'm finishing up some projects, so don't mind me. Go ahead."

Both boys nodded, and got started. They went through their warm-ups, then Harry started working Ron through a form.

About thirty minutes in, Maison closed his folder and stood up. He watched as Ron tried to move through the form Harry was currently showing him.

Harry stopped and turned around. "Hmm? Professor Maison?" Maison had closed his eyes and Harry felt his Chi jump for a moment.

"Carry on Harry, I'm just watching."

"Yes sir." Harry turned back around and continued trying to work Ron through the Tai Chi form.

After a few more minutes, Ron stopped and shook his head. "How in the bloody world do you manage to get this right Harry? I feel like I'm trying to move three different ways at once!"

Harry laughed. "I've been doing it for so long that it's easy for me. I don't even have to think about it now, I just do the moves."

"Part of the reason you do so well Harry, is because you are using your Chi as well, to help guide yourself." Maison interrupted. "Mr. Weasley here doesn't have access to his own Chi, so he must drill it into himself, manually. Of course, that doesn't mean you couldn't do the moves as well without your Chi, but it is a moot point in your case."

"Man, that's no fair at all. Harry gets an easier way to learn all those moves, and it's going to take me forever!" Ron shook his head and kicked at the ground, obviously miffed.

Maison just chuckled. "Ah, but there is a tradeoff. The moves that come easier for him are just the standard moves. Since he does use his Chi, he has to learn moves where he has to purposely use his Chi in them. And those he learns at the same speed that you are learning the basics."

"Well, at least you're not getting off completely easy, Harry." Ron punched Harry in the shoulder. "But Professor Maison, I'd really like to be able to use Chi. Could you explain to me again exactly why I can't learn to use Chi unless I practice for a whole bunch of years?"

Maison nodded, and then thought for a moment before answering. "The body has energy flows, of which your Chi and your magic flow through. Magic though, is a pervasive energy. It will saturate these flows and restrict the flow of your Chi if it has not already been established. That is why it would take a witch or wizard many years to be able to use their Chi, as it has to make its way through the magic saturated energy flows. In Harry's case, his Chi established its place in his energy flows but allowed other energy to flow as well, so when he started using magic more it could not completely restrict him to magic." Maison smiled at Ron sadly. "In your case and in mine, the Chi pretty much has to fight for its place in the energy flows, and you will only have a small amount accessible at first. In another thirty years, I may have as much ability as Harry does now, but by then, he'll be even farther ahead of me."

"Thirty years? So it'd take me forever to get anywhere _near_ what Harry has just right now?"

"Don't judge yourself just on your friend. Both Mr. Potter and his cousin have a very large amount of Chi, especially for being so young. I had thought it might be because he had trained before gaining access to his magic, but his cousin isn't magical or even a Squib."

Harry spoke up at this point. "Squib?"

"A person born into a magical family, but has no magic themselves. They also very rarely show up in Muggle families with Muggle-born witches or wizards, instead of the child being born magical." Maison explained.

"So you don't know why I have this much Chi then, Professor?" Harry asked.

"Unfortunately, I don't. Maybe your Sensei could figure it out, if he were allowed to know about magic." Maison shook his head. "Unfortunately, it is against the Statute of Secrecy to tell him about magic." Maison looked at the two of them. "It matters not now anyways. Back to practicing, the both of you. Harry, I will work with you here in a little while as well."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

It was later that evening when Ron and Harry met up again with Hermione. She looked happy to see them.

"Hey, while you two were gone, I went ahead and looked up Hagrid's pet in that other book. You know, Dark Creatures: Fact and Fiction?" Hermione seemed about ready to start bouncing with whatever she had learned.

Ron groaned. "Did you stay in the library all day Hermione?" She sent him a curious look and nodded. "We have got to get you a different hobby. Something actually fun."

She scowled at him. "Excuse me? I think researching and investigating things are fun. Why would I want to do something else?" She took a step closer to Ron and took a deep breath, about to start in on him.

Harry pushed between them before she could get started. "I hate to interrupt you two, well, not really, but still." Hermione stepped back again. "Ron, she can do what she wants. She thinks it's fun, we'll just have to find something else she considers fun as well."

Hermione nodded primly, and Harry continued. "Hermione, we don't really consider it fun, so don't get mad at us when we say it isn't, alright?" Ron grinned at her as Hermione nodded again, albeit more slowly. "Anyways. What'd you find in that book then?"

"Oh! I found out a whole bunch of things about Pogrebins. It said they're not just native to Russia, but they've been found as far south as central China. Hagrid probably needs to read it as well, since it had feeding habits and such for them. Under fiction it was really interesting though. It said there are stories of Muggles keeping them for pets thousands of years ago in China and they didn't hurt anyone at all. They were feed regular meat and never made anyone feel depressed or anything. The people supposedly keeping them were monks and Samurai."

"Ok, and what does that have to do with anything, Hermione?" Ron asked. Harry nodded his head, also wondering.

"Well, I'm not sure about Samurai, but the monks in China knew all sorts of martial arts and things. Do you think it might not be fiction, but true because they could were able to use Chi and do something like what you said you did to it?"

Harry thought for a moment, remembering his encounter with Hagrid's little pet. "Maybe. I did hit whatever was trying to attack my Chi, and then it left everyone alone. Maybe I did it already?"

"Could be. Then Hagrid wouldn't have to worry about it hurting anyone else, and he won't get in trouble." Ron looked thoughtful for a moment. "Hermione, would it still be a Dark Creature if it couldn't do all that stuff?"

"I don't know, Ron. I don't know what actually makes it a Dark Creature." Hermione shrugged, but then her eyes lit up. "I can look it up though."

Ron groaned. "Great, now it's my fault she's going to bury herself back in the library again."

Harry laughed.

* * *

Many apologies about how long it took to get this chapter out. I'm blaming it all on the fact that my beta lost his internet connection for a couple of weeks. It wasn't because of a massive case of writer's block. No, I swear, really. Besides, this damned thing doesn't read right to me as well, but it's the best I can get out. Next chapter should hopefully be quicker. (And a bit longer) 

As always, read and review.


	20. Chapter 19

**Clay Pinions**

**By Lochar**

Disclaimer: If I owned it, JKR wouldn't and I probably wouldn't have created a kid named Harry Potter. Or given him these interesting abilities. So that's why this is called fanfic. I don't own it.

A/N: This is chapter 19, and I posted 18 when our favorite hosting site was having all those lovely issues. If you haven't read 18 yet, I suggest hitting the story back button first.

Chapter 19

* * *

The peace lasted another four days. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were eating dinner in the Great Hall, waiting for late evening to come so they could go to the Astronomy Tower and have their Wednesday night class when it happened.

The doors leading into the Hall were opened, and Hagrid, as quietly as he could, walked in. Harry noticed that it looked like he was carrying something decently big. While it was a little hard to tell with Hagrid's large arms in the way, looking closer he could just make out a person.

He nudged Ron and pointed to Hagrid, also getting Hermione's attention. "What do you think is up? Who's Hagrid have I wonder?"

Hagrid walked up to the Head Table, where all of the staff were currently enjoying dinner as well. He stood in front of Madam Pomfrey and said something to her that Harry, way down at the Gryffindor table, could not hear.

"Could it be the Pogrebin, Harry?" Hermione whispered. Her voice was almost lost in the rest of the whispers going around all four of the House tables.

"Hey, yeah, that could be it. Maybe Hagrid couldn't control it." Ron's voice was a whisper as well, noticed by no one else.

Harry bowed his head for a moment. "Probably. I hope the student is ok."

Madam Pomfrey by this time had stood up, and was leading Hagrid out of the Hall and towards the hospital wing.

Hagrid turned and followed her. As he passed by the Gryffindor table he gave Harry a single, quick look, before continuing to follow Pomfrey out of the Hall.

Slowly, the whispers died out, leaving the students speaking in a normal tone of voice, but the question everyone was asking was, 'What happened?'

Harry looked at Ron and Hermione and quietly said, "I'm going to have to skip class tonight."

"No Harry, you can't skip class." Hermione immediately objected.

Sighing, Harry shook his head. "Hermione, it's more important then class. If it was Hagrid's pet that hurt whoever he was carrying, it's probably recovered and is trying to drain Chi again. Either I try to stop it for good this time, or Hagrid's going to have to lose his pet, maybe even kill it."

"And since Pogrebins are actually Dark Creatures, Hermione, Hagrid could get into a lot of trouble for having one." Ron spoke up, reminding Hermione.

Hermione slumped in her seat. "Fine. I won't tell, but I'm not helping you either, Harry. You have to get back to the Astronomy Tower by yourself, you hear me? I am not missing class."

"Fine by me." Harry shrugged. "You go to class too, Ron. I'll be back as soon as possible."

Ron nodded, and the three resumed their dinner.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The Gryffindor class was about halfway to the Astronomy Tower when Harry fell back. "Dang it, forgot my notes. I gotta run back and get them. Don't worry about me, ok?" He looked expectantly at Ron and Hermione.

Ron nodded and kept walking. Hermione's eyes held him for a moment, and then she nodded as well. "Be careful coming back by yourself. Mr. Filch probably wouldn't believe that you're running late for class, alright?"

Harry gave her a smile. "I'll do my best to dodge him then. He'll never see me."

Harry turned around and ran back towards Gryffindor Tower, stopping once he got out of sight of the rest of the class. He looked around, making sure no one was there, and reached into his pack to pull out a folded, shimmering cloth. Unfolding it, he threw the Invisibility Cloak around him and pulled the hood up, disappearing from view.

Harry quickly made his way past the staircase leading up to the Gryffindor common room, heading instead towards the main hall. Slipping out through the smaller door off to the side instead of the giant main ones, Harry ran across the grass towards the Forbidden Forest and Hagrid's hut.

Halfway across the grounds, the attacking energy of Hagrid's pet Pogrebin hit him. _Lord in Heaven, it's reaching out further than it was last time!_ Harry ran as fast as he could, already starting to create the barrier of Chi in his mind. When he got to Hagrid's hut, the creature's blue energy was already heavily surrounding his Chi, and he quietly opened the door.

Hagrid was still awake and playing with his pet. He slipped his Invisibility Cloak off and stuffed it back into his pack. "Hagrid, hey, what happened?" He whispered.

Hagrid turned to face Harry, blocking the Pogrebin's view of Harry. "Hiya Harry. Wha'ever yeh did ter me pet seems to hav' worn off. You saw the girl I carried ta Madam Pomfrey at dinner. Do yeh think yeh can do it again? Maybe this time make it permanent?"

"That's what I'm going to try Hagrid. Hermione read that it might be possible."

At hearing this, Hagrid let out a huge sigh of relief. "Thank yeh, Harry. I didn' want ta get rid of 'em."

"I'm glad to help, Hagrid. Let him see me, please." Harry took a deep breath, fully dropping himself into the Void, ready for the attack.

Hagrid took a step to the side and Harry noticed the creature had grown a little since he'd last seen it. Once the creature focused on him, the blue energy surrounding his Chi coalesced again into the blue lance, which immediately drove at his Chi barrier.

Harry, ready for the thing's immediate attack, attacked right back. He reached out inside his own mind with his Chi, imaging grabbing hold of the lance. The Pogrebin immediately started squealing on the table when it couldn't remove the attack from Harry's mind.

_Alright, I blunted it once and it quit doing it for a few days. This time, I'm getting rid of it._ The thought went through his mind, and thought became action. Closing his eyes to fully see what was happening, Harry's hands rose in time with him grabbing the lance again, this time with two hands. He started to bend the energy lance, and the Pogrebin screeched. The lance seemed to waver in his mind, and Harry immediately held onto it tighter.

But instead of trying to escape, the lance changed. It seemed to thicken, becoming harder. Almost as hard as the barrier he had created to stop it from attacking his Chi in the first place.

"Harry? Wha's happenin?" Hagrid's voice sounded in Harry's ears.

"Heh…" Harry laughed slightly, still holding onto the lance turned rod. "It…doesn't want…to play." Harry got out, and then shut Hagrid out again, focusing on the Pogrebin.

Channeling more of his Chi into the grip he had on the Pogrebin, Harry again attempted to bend and break the energy rod. The almost constant shrill screams from the creature were now echoing inside of his mind, attempting to distract him. The rod barely bent though, and Harry pushed even harder.

Inside of his own mind, Harry raged. _I can't break it! It's too strong to even bend much._ It seemed he could even feel the rod in his real hands.

Hagrid took a step back, staring at Harry. "What in the name of Merlin?" He whispered, as a faint blue glow flickered in and out of Harry's hands.

Harry channeled even more of his Chi into the grip against the creature's energy; failure no longer an option. It had become more than just trying to save Hagrid. It had become his own personal challenge. His eyes flew open to stare right back at the Pogrebin, and in making eye contact with it, he saw the energy flickering inside his hands.

"So, that's what it is, huh?" Harry grimaced at the creature, which had stopped screaming now, its entire power focusing on Harry as well. "I'm going to have to physically break it too, huh?"

Delving back into his Chi, Harry drew almost half of what he had left, channeling it into his hands now. The amount of Chi going through his hands actually seemed to crackle in his skin, and a luminous silver energy started fading in and out around his hands. The blue energy Harry held seemed to become completely visible, and Harry grinned at it. "Got you now." Pushing as hard as he could, both in his mind and physically, the rod quickly started bending. All of a sudden, the rod broke, shattering into thousands of tiny flecks of energy, which quickly faded from view.

The Pogrebin screamed again, and fell down on the table. Hagrid checked it as Harry stood there. "E's still breathin', Harry."

"Good." Harry let out a long breath, then sunk down into one of Hagrid's chairs. "That wore me out."

"Thank yeh, Harry. I think he'll be good now, and he won' 'ert anyone." Hagrid grinned at his temporarily comatose pet. "Ain't that right, Nibbler?"

Harry blinked at him, his eyes questioning. "Hagrid, do you name all your dangerous pets like that?"

Hagrid turned from the little creature and looked questioningly at him. "Hmm?"

Harry motioned to the Pogrebin. "Nibbler the people-eating Pogrebin, Fluffy the three-headed dog of doom."

"Where'd yeh hear about Fluffy?" Hagrid's small eyes were wide and staring at Harry in shock.

"Ron, Hermione, and I have seen it Hagrid. And we heard Snape arguing with the Headmaster about trying to get rid of it. We think he wants what's behind that trapdoor." Harry gave a small, seemingly nonchalant shrug.

"That's nonsense Harry, Professor Snape's one o' the ones that's helping protect what Fluffy's guarding, along with the rest of the staff; he wouldn't want it."

"Just because he's protecting it, doesn't mean he can't want it. It's just one less person he has to worry about." Harry shrugged again, then stood up. "I'm sorry to run, Hagrid, but I have got to get back to the Astronomy Tower. Supposedly I'm just looking for missing notes."

"Then ye'd better get, Harry. Have a fun time." Hagrid stood also, opening the hut's door and shooing Harry out.

Harry yawned. "As long as I don't fall asleep. I'm dead on my feet now, after that."

Not feeling up to running back again, Harry quickly walked back towards the castle. He managed to get back into the castle with no problems. Looking down at his watch, he quietly cursed to himself. "I am in so much trouble. There's only a few minutes left of class. Might as well head back to the Tower." _Maybe I can get in bed before the rest of the class gets back and say I fell asleep looking for my notes._

He quietly made his way back towards Gryffindor Tower, passing by the library when he heard voices around the next corner. _It sounds like Snape and Professor Quirrell, great. And this is the quickest way back to the Tower._ He quickly thought about backtracking and going another route, but discarded the idea. _They shouldn't take too long hopefully. And then I can get by them._

Pressing his back to the wall to avoid his shadow being cast where either of them could see it, Harry listened and waited for them to move.

"So Quirrell, have you managed to find a way past that mutt yet?" Snape wasn't even attempting to keep his voice down.

"I-I-I might h-h-have." The DADA teacher managed to stutter out.

"Time grows short… so if an attempt is to be made, haste is required." Snape's voice was quieter now, apparently talking more to himself than to Quirrell. After a few seconds Snape spoke again and his voice was back to its normal level. "Bah, I don't have time to waste with you. Leave me be. I will find out on my own soon enough, and then you will be in serious trouble."

Harry heard Snape turn and start to walk off, and then Quirrell's voice spoke up. "S-S-Severus, I have reasons."

"Oh? Do tell."

There was a rustling of cloth, and a moment of silence, and then Snape's voice could be heard again. "I… see. I will maintain my path then. Should something… fortuitous… happen, I will be available."

There was another rustling of cloth, and then Harry heard Quirrell's voice again. "G-Good eve-n-ning to you then, S-Severus."

Quirrell's footsteps withdrew, but Snape's started moving towards him. Silently cursing himself for staying around, Harry quickly backpedaled to the end of the hallway. _If I get caught back here, maybe he won't think I heard his conversation at least._

Harry had gotten to the end of the hallway just as Snape had turned the corner and spotted him.

"Potter! What are you doing here?" Snape's eyes narrowed. "One hundred points from Gryffindor for being completely out of bounds this late at night. Alright boy, come with me. We'll see what else your Head of House will do to you. You're getting detention, but unfortunately, it falls to her to assign it. How… unfortunate for me."

Shuddering slightly, Harry quietly followed behind the Potions Master. They walked towards the base of Gryffindor Tower, and stopped at one of the main staircases that headed up. Snape tapped a nearby portrait, waking it up.

The woman in the portrait glared at him, but Snape paid her no mind. "Go wake up McGonagall, I found one of her students extremely out of bounds and I will have him dealt with now."

The portrait yawned and then nodded. She quickly left the frame of the portrait.

Snape glared down at Harry. "If I have my way, Potter, you will be expelled."

"Being out of bounds once can't be that bad of an offense, Professor Snape. And who's to say I wasn't on my way back from the Astronomy Tower class?" Harry defended himself, remembering the letter from Snape's uncle.

"As the Astronomy Tower is on the other side of the school, away from where you were and no where _near_ the path between the Gryffindor and the Astronomy Tower, I sincerely doubt it. Unless you have a _very_ good excuse for being so far out, the only thing in that direction would have been the front doors... Wandering outside, perhaps?" Snape's face grew into a malevolent smile.

Harry stayed quiet, knowing there was nothing he could say that would appease Snape.

After a few minutes, McGonagall came downstairs. "What in the world is the matter, Severus, that you have to wake me in the dead of night?"

"That is the whole reason. I caught Potter here down past the library while the other Gryffindor first years have Astronomy. He was obviously skipping class, and the only thing beyond where I caught him would be the Great Hall and the main doors. Outside the school as well, I am assuming."

_Great, paint me in the worst light you can, why don't you?_ Harry grumbled to himself. He looked up when Professor McGonagall spoke though.

"Well, Mr. Potter? Anything to say in your defense?" Her voice was stern, demanding an explanation.

Harry sighed. "No, Professor." _I am not going to prove Snape right._

He heard Snape chuckle darkly, but McGonagall did not seem to notice. "Alright then, back to the tower with you." She looked to Snape. "I know you want him expelled Severus, but for a first offense I will _not _suggest it to the Headmaster." She looked down at Harry again. "Fifty points from Gryffindor, and you will be serving detention with Hagrid tomorrow night."

Harry had slumped at hearing another fifty points being taken off in his name, but brightened at hearing about his detention.

"Don't worry, Potter. That oaf is supposed to go chasing into the Forbidden forest tomorrow night, so I can only hope it won't be an easy detention." Snape's voice was practically gleeful, and Harry slumped again.

"Severus, Hagrid does have a name, and I would prefer you not engage in name-calling, it makes you seem…childish." McGonagall's voice was censuring to Snape. After his terse nod, she turned to Harry. "Alright, Mr. Potter. Up to the Tower with you. Report to Mr. Filch at Ten p.m. sharp, understood?" Harry nodded, and then Professor McGonagall turned to the portrait that Snape had spoke to. "Escort him up, please. And tell me if he detours again."

The lady in the portrait nodded, and beckoned to Harry.

Harry took his leave of his Head of House, and trudged up the stairs, the lady flitting between portraits keeping an eye on him. He got to the Fat Lady's portrait and gave her the password. Walking past the entrance into the common room, he was relieved to find that the rest of the first years had not yet returned from the Astronomy Tower. _Only good thing to have happened all night._ He quickly went up to the dorms, slipped into his nightclothes and crawled into bed. He fell asleep immediately, thoroughly drained from everything that had happened.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Harry awoke the next morning to bellows and yells of denial. He heard fragmented shouts of "points?" and "Who?" _And now, I'm going to be killed by my own dorm mates._

Closing his eyes again, Harry mentally assessed his Chi. After almost completely draining himself the night before, his pool of Chi seemed to be more of a puddle. _And then Professor Maison will finish the students' job._ He climbed out of bed, still weary and weak.

By the time he had showered and made it down to the common room, everyone had left. He quietly made his way down to the Great Hall for breakfast as well.

Reaching the Great Hall, he walked over to the Gryffindor table, sat down and nodded to Ron and Hermione across from him. Immediately, everyone to his left and right scooted over, leaving enough room for three people on either side of him.

He winced. _And they know._ He heard a bout of laughter coming from the Slytherin table, and saw Malfoy pointing him out to the rest of the school. _And that would be who told them. Two guesses who told Malfoy._

He quietly ate his breakfast, a pariah among his own housemates. Even Hermione and Ron were not talking to him at the moment. A look towards them saw Hermione's frown and censuring look, and Ron's outrage at the almost guaranteed loss of the House Cup.

The rest of the day did not go any better either, although Hermione seemed to eventually forgive him.

Probably because in Charms he managed to win back twenty points from Professor Flitwick for managing to cast a perfect Silencing Charm on his first try, hitting Ron and shutting him up about not being able to manage it yet.

On the way between Charms and Herbology, Harry felt like he was alone in a room full of people. The other Gryffindors chatted amongst themselves, completely cutting him out of their circle.

Once they reached Herbology, it wasn't any better. He was partnered with Ron, who was still angry with him.

"Blast it, Ron, weren't you were the one who supported me going out there last night? What's up now?" Harry hissed at him as they were repotting plants.

Ron was quiet for a moment before he spoke. "That was when I thought you'd never be caught. How'd he catch you, anyways? I thought you would have been wearing your cloak?"

Harry groaned quietly. "I was completely wiped last night after what happened. I forgot about it, it was still stuffed in my bag."

"Then that's why I'm mad at you. You were caught. A _hundred and fifty points_, Harry. There's only a couple of weeks left in the school year. There's no way we can make that many up. We went from just about assured the House Cup to needing several miracles." Ron sighed. "Did you at least fix the problem?"

"Yeah, but it took a lot out of me. I'm probably at Professor Maison's level right now." Ron stopped and stared at him. "Yeah, that low. That's why I forgot." Harry's eyes brightened. "Hey, at least I got something out of it though. Before I got caught, I heard Snape and Professor Quirrell arguing, and it sounded like Snape was trying to force Quirrell to figure out how to get past Fluffy. He's going to go after the stone as soon as he knows how."

Ron had stopped completely now, and was staring at Harry. "You sure, mate?" Harry nodded. "Bloody Hell, we're going to have to tell someone."

Harry shook his head. "No one's going to believe us. I actually talked to Hagrid. Snape is one of the ones _protecting_ the stone, so no one is going to believe he wants to steal it."

"Then we'll tell Hermione. Maybe she can help keep the greasy git away from it."

After class, Ron pulled Hermione over to them and Harry explained what he'd heard.

Hermione's lips pursed as she thought. "I doubt he'd go after it while the Headmaster is here though, Harry. As long as Professor Dumbledore is here, it should be safe regardless of what Professor Snape tries."

"Alright. So are both of you no longer mad at me then?" Harry asked; hope could be heard in his voice.

Hermione smiled and nodded. Ron grinned. "Oh, I'm still mad at you, but I'll get even with you eventually."

Harry's day after that went slightly better. He was still an outcast from most of the Gryffindors, but at least he had his friends back.

Ten p.m. rolled around far too quickly though, and found Harry standing at the door to Filch's office.

"Ah, Potter. Come in for a moment, I have some last minute things to take care of before your detention."

Harry walked into the office, noting the manacles and chains hanging from a wall.

"Notice them, do you? I wish the Headmaster would allow them to be used again as forms of punishment." Filch grinned nastily at Harry. "Nothing like corporal punishment to make a student too afraid to step out of line again. Chain them up or put them in the stocks for a day or so, and they'll never cause problems again." He stood up from his desk. "Alright, boy. Come on, we don't want you to miss your detention, do we? Not after we managed to get Hagrid to take you into the Forest, maybe you'll even get caught by something in there."

Harry followed Filch silently out of the castle and to Hagrid's hut.

"Hello, Harry. How yeh doing?" Hagrid's voice was quiet when he stepped outside the hut.

"None of that now, Hagrid. He's here to be punished." Filch interrupted.

Hagrid glared at him. "And what took 'em so long to get out here? You dally yerself tryin' to make 'em get in more trouble?"

Filch just ignored him. "Go on Potter. Maybe you'll get lucky and not get eaten alive in there." He gave another nasty smile and walked back to the castle.

Hagrid looked sadly at Harry. "Sorry abou' that, Harry. Guess yer in trouble because you came ter help me, aren't ya?"

"Doesn't matter Hagrid. I had to do it. What are we going into the forest for?" Harry looked over to the Forbidden Forest as he asked, staring into the gloomy darkness.

Hagrid hefted his crossbow. "Somethin's in there, hurting 'n killing unicorns. We gotta find it and stop it."

Harry spun around, a look of complete shock on his face. "Unicorns?"

"Aye. Powerful magic creatures. Found som of their blood where one 'ad been attacked. Didn't think anything lived in there powerful enough to 'ert a 'corn." Hagrid explained.

"So it's going to be just me and you, against whatever is powerful enough to hurt a unicorn, Hagrid? You have got to be out of your mind."

"Nah, we'll 'ave Fang with us. We'll be ok, Harry." Hagrid smiled and patted his huge dog. "C'mon, let's go."

* * *

Three guesses what they're going to find, and the first two don't count.

As always, read and review. If you've got a question and an email addy I can find, I usually reply back to the review.


	21. Chapter 20

**Clay Pinions**

**By Lochar**

Disclaimer: You shall all bow down before the true owner of the Harry Potter series. Hey, wait a sec, why are you bowing to JKR? Grrr….

A/N: I will be directly answering all reviews that are more than 'good/great story' at hannibalbarca.proboards46. com/index. cgi Remember to remove the spaces, under author responses.

Chapter 20

* * *

Hagrid led the way into the forest, Harry behind him and Fang in the back. Hagrid was holding his massive crossbow easily. 

"Hagrid, do you even have any idea what's in here?" Harry questioned from behind him.

"Nah, but whatever it is 'as teh be Dark. Unicorn blood will keep anyone alive, even if they're 'bout ter die, but it's a cursed life. Ain't no way teh live, like that." Hagrid stopped for a moment, looking about. "Dunno where it might be though." He said quietly as he continued walking.

They went another hundred feet into the forest, down a little-walked path before Harry spoke again.

"Hagrid, if we do find it, what am I supposed to do about it? You've at least got your crossbow and Fang can either attack it or run off, but I don't know what I could do to it. I doubt the Jelly-Legs jinx is going to do anything to it." Hagrid stopped again and turned to look at him. "I mean, what was Professor McGonagall thinking? What good am I going to be out here, really?"

"She probably wants ter scare yeh a bit, Harry. Make yeh be good." He thought for a moment. "Yeh know how to shoot sparks, right?"

"I do, but what good are sparks going to do me?"

"Easy enough. Blind wha'ever it is, or mehbe catch summat on fire between yeh and it. Somethin' enough to give me time to get it."

Harry nodded. "Okay, I'm pretty sure I can do that."

Hagrid watched as Harry closed his eyes and noticeably calmed down. Inside the Void, Harry saw that his Chi was still at less that half of what it normally was. _That's still out then._ Channeling a small portion of his magical core into his wand, -still several times more than what was required to cast sparks- Harry opened his eyes. He then grinned at Hagrid. "What do you know; maybe this will work out."

"Let's hope fer the best then, Harry." Hagrid again resumed walking.

The path they were taking seemed to wind through the whole forest, twisting in on itself almost. The longer they walked the path, the more nervousness seemed to beat against the Void in Harry's mind. In response, Harry kept adding a little more magic into his wand, his eyes alert and constantly on the lookout for anything that moved.

A rustle of branches came from the right, and Harry spun to face them, wand held out and nearly vibrating with the magical potential Harry had already pushed into it.

"Hold on a sec, Harry." Hagrid put his much larger hand over Harry's own, keeping his wand tilted down, away from the bushes.

Heavy footfalls were heard first. Harry frowned, as it sounded like more than one person. As the sound drew closer, a man with black, scruffy looking hair appeared from the bushes, even taller than Hagrid was. The man stepped away from the bush, and when Harry looked down to size him up, gasped to see the man's body was connected to a horse at the waist. "Wow." He breathed out.

Hagrid nodded to the creature. "Hullo Bane." He looked down to Harry and quietly said, "He's a Centaur, Harry."

"Hagrid." Bane replied. He looked at them both for a moment, then spoke again. "Neither of you should be in the forest this night." Bane looked up into the sky. "Mars rises high, and seeks conflict."

"Sorry, Bane, but I hav' teh. There's summat in the forest killin' teh unicorns." Hagrid patted his crossbow. "'Sides, Professor Dumbledore gave me a coupla enchanted crossbow bolts. Supposed to pierce through anything."

"I'll not stop you, but do attempt to have your corpses removed from the forest if the night turns tragic." Bane his head and looked to Harry. "Jove's Bolt. How… unexpected." Bane turned and walked back off the path, disappearing into the trees.

After waiting a moment, Hagrid knelt down next to Harry and whispered, "Centaurs are a strange lot, Harry. Stargazers, every one of them; always got their heads stuck in the clouds. Don' let that fool yeh though, they're smart enough not teh let on how smart they are; if yeh catch my meanin'." He then straightened up, and spoke louder. "Now c'mon Harry, no time to waste."

As Harry continued to follow Hagrid, he kept a very close eye on the sides of the path. "Hey, Hagrid! What's this?" He stopped and bent over, looking at a branch. Hagrid stopped and peered at it as well.

"It's unicorn blood Harry. And it's fresh. Mehbe we kin catch up to wha'ever's out there." Hagrid checked over his crossbow again, then pushed through the bushes, off the path.

_This is going to be very quick, hopefully._ Wand held in front of him, Harry followed Hagrid through the brush, again adding to the magic he held ready in his wand.

After crashing through the brush for a few minutes, Hagrid stumbled out into a clearing with Harry closely behind him. In front of them lay a dying unicorn, with a strange shadowy creature hunched over it, feasting on the blood welling up from the unicorn's neck. It spun around, hissing at them as it heard Hagrid's approach.

Hagrid immediately let off the bolt from his crossbow, and it flew true, straight at the head of the creature. At the last moment, an arm came up and the bolt suddenly veered off it's path, going through a tree trunk before imbedding itself in another outside the clearing.

Cursing, Hagrid started fumbling with the crossbow to draw it back and load another bolt. "Harry! Blind it so I can get another bolt at it!"

Grimacing, Harry nodded. Lifting his wand, he pointed it at the center of the slowly approaching creature. The movement drew the creature's gaze towards Harry, and he felt a sharp pain go through his forehead, centered on his scar. Pushing the pain away and fully entrenching himself into the Void, Harry pushed as much as of his magic he could safely control into his wand.

"_Creating sparks from your wand does not even require a spoken spell. Just like when you first received your wand, a movement with the proper mindset can create a few sparks. Enough to light a small campfire perhaps."_ The words of Professor Flitwick echoed through his mind as Harry jabbed his wand towards the creature, intent on creating enough sparks to blind it long enough for Hagrid to reload and fire another bolt.

Instead of a few or even a handful of sparks however, an absolute deluge of sparks flowed from his wand, looking almost like a jagged beam of magic arcing towards the creature. Harry felt the magic in his wand slowly fade as the bolt went on for a few seconds, striking the creature dead center.

The creature screamed and dove deeper into the forest. Hagrid shot another bolt into the forest after it, but neither saw if it had been hit.

Hagrid lowered his crossbow, then looked at Harry with wide, astonished eyes. "Where in the world did yeh learn a spell like that, Harry? And yeh did it wordlessly too!"

Harry shook his head. "I was just trying to make sparks Hagrid. But I put a hell of a lot of magic behind it, so maybe that's what made it different?" He shrugged. "Either way, I think we drove it away. Can we go back now?"

"Sure, sure. I don't think that beast is goin' to stay around much longer, if it survives wha'ever you managed to do to it, Harry." Hagrid looked around the clearing, and then looked up into the sky. "Looks like Hogwarts is back this way, c'mon."

Harry quietly followed Hagrid, yawning.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Harry sunk down at the Gryffindor table the next morning, his eyes still bleary from the night before. He nodded to Ron and Hermione, then started picking through his food, intent on eating enough to wake himself up.

"I see you survived your detention in the forest, Potter. Pity really. Had you not, it would have made one less idiotic Gryffindor walking the halls." Malfoy's voice rang out from behind Harry, at the Slytherin table.

Harry turned around slowly. Yawning, he looked Malfoy over, and then turned back around to his breakfast. Speaking to Ron and Hermione, Harry made sure that his voice was loud enough to carry over to Draco. "You know, I wish I had one of Hagrid's enchanted crossbow bolts. I could test their ability to pierce through anything. See if they could manage to get through Malfoy's overly large ego."

Amidst the snickers from the Gryffindors, Harry calmly finished eating. He could almost hear Malfoy's teeth grinding from across the hall. It actually made a somewhat pleasant background sound.

Once they were done, Harry stood up and motioned for Ron and Hermione to get up as well. "Come on, we've got class shortly."

Hermione nodded. "And exams are next week. We want to make sure we know everything that might be on the tests."

Ron groaned, but got up and followed as well.

-

The trio had managed to make it to the Charms classroom early, and Hermione had decided she wanted to discuss Harry's detention the night before.

"So what happened last night, Harry? Why on earth did you have to go into the forest?"

Harry sat back in his chair, thinking over the night before. "Something was killing the unicorns in the forest." Hermione gasped and covered her mouth, while Ron's eyes widened and he went pale. "Yeah, I know. Hagrid said there shouldn't have been anything in there able to kill them. But there was. After wandering around in the forest for over an hour we met a Centaur, and then a little while afterwards found the creature."

Hermione was digging through her pack and had pulled out a copy of _Fantastic Beasts_. "What was it Harry? Maybe we can look it up."

"Dunno. It was like it was made of shadow or something. Hagrid shot at it with his crossbow, but it knocked away the bolt without even touching it, so I guess it was magical as well." Harry thought for a moment. "I tried to shoot sparks at it to blind it so Hagrid could try shooting it again, but the spell messed up."

Ron looked at Harry strangely. "Messed up? Shooting sparks? How can you mess that up?"

"Dunno. I jabbed my wand at it, intent on hitting it with enough sparks to give Hagrid time, but instead it was like… a lightning bolt. Hey, Hermione. Who's Jove?"

Hermione looked up from her book. "It's another name for Jupiter, a Roman God who was the leader of that pantheon. He had lightning bolts made for him by Vulcan, forger of the Gods, why?"

"Because that Centaur looked at me and said something about 'Jove's bolt'. He wasn't really looking at me though; he was looking at my wand. I'd put a lot of magic into it before I tried casting those sparks." Harry froze for a second, realizing what that meant. "He knew!"

Both of the others were impressed as well. "Maybe he was able to see what you were going to cast, Harry." Ron remarked.

They had to be quiet after that, as the rest of the class started filtering in, and Professor Flitwick showed up. Class went well, with Harry doing his best to earn back all the points he had lost for Gryffindor.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The week of exams went easily, with the Trio impressing their instructors on practical knowledge. Only Hermione had managed to do decently in History of Magic, -as the entire thing was written- which had turned out to be their last exam.

They were eating dinner in the Great Hall, discussing their exams and what they had hoped to receive for grades when Harry noticed something.

"Uh, anyone see the Headmaster?" He quietly asked of the table.

Seamus looked up. "Hmm? No. He was here at lunch, but I don't think I've seen him since then."

The rest of the first years agreed, so Harry looked to Ron and Hermione and asked them, sounding hopeful. "Either of you see him since lunch then?"

They shook their heads slowly, realization dawning on them.

Harry sighed, then nodded. "After dinner then, you think?"

"Yes. We need to tell Professor McGonagall; She might be able to find him. She's the Deputy Headmistress as well, so it's only proper." Hermione said.

Neville overheard them, and looked at her oddly. "What would you need to tell her?"

Hermione shrugged. "It's something we were working on for extra credit. She told us to check with the Headmaster after exams, but he's not here. Maybe she can help us, as she's the Deputy Headmistress."

Ron looked at her, amazed at the story she had made up seemingly on the spot.

"Oh, ok." Neville went back to eating dinner, and the trio looked at each other, considering what they were going to do.

-

It was an hour or so before curfew when they managed to find Professor McGonagall in her office, going over papers.

"Professor, do you have a moment to talk?" Hermione started.

"Of course Miss Granger. What brings the three of you to my office this late?" McGonagall laid down her quill and looked expectedly at them.

Harry took a breath, and wanting to waste no time, jumped to the heart of their problem. "The Philosopher's Stone."

McGonagall looked shocked for a moment, before she narrowed her eyes and set her lips into a fine line. "And just how do you know about something like that?"

"We know it's being protected in the third corridor, Professor. Where's the Headmaster at? It's important." Ron added.

"Professor Dumbledore was called away for an emergency meeting at the Ministry."

"Someone tricked him then. Snape's going to go after the stone tonight, Professor. He got the Headmaster out of the school, and now he's going to go after it!" Harry quickly blurted out.

McGonagall frowned. "_Professor_ Snape," she stressed, "was one of the people to help protect the stone. I don't know how you found out about it, but it is very well protected. You should just forget about it, and go to bed." She waved them off. "If there is nothing else?"

"No, Professor McGonagall." Hermione's voice was quiet.

Once they were outside the office, Harry spoke quickly and quietly. "I'm going down there tonight. I don't care what she says, Snape's going after it."

Ron nodded. "I'm going with you. You're going to need help."

"Hermione? I take it you're coming as well?" Harry asked as they walked towards their common room.

"My not going isn't going to stop you, is it?" She asked, and Harry shook his head. "Then I'm going to keep you two out of anymore trouble than we're already going to get into."

Harry stopped a little distance away from the Fat Lady's portrait. "We'll leave an hour after curfew, sound good? That should be a long enough time that everyone else will be in bed."

They nodded and the trio made their way into the common room.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The three met down in the common room, an hour after curfew started.

"So, you two ready?" Harry asked.

They both nodded. They were making their way towards the portrait when a voice spoke up.

"Harry, you're going to get in trouble and lose more points."

Harry spun around, and found Neville sitting in one of the chairs, which had been turned to face the exit.

"Guess you didn't believe Hermione at dinner, did you?" Harry grinned slightly, looking to Hermione.

"Not quite. I can't see Ron doing anymore work over the summer than we've already been assigned." Neville stood up and looked at Harry. "We won't come in last right now, Harry. But if you get caught tonight, we'll be dead last with no way to catch back up."

"_Petrificus Totalus."_ came Hermione's voice, catching Neville unaware. Neville's body froze, arms and legs snapping together as he fell back against the chair. "Sorry, Neville. We don't have any choice."

"We'll let you go after we get back. Don't be too mad at us." Ron said.

The trio walked out of the common room, Hermione sparing one last glance at Neville.

"You think he'll be okay?" She asked as they walked down the stairs.

"If nothing else, someone will find him in the morning if we don't let him out of it earlier." Harry replied.

They reached the stairs leading to the third corridor; the stairs had already turned to the correct area. They quickly ascended the stairs, and stopped at the door leading to Fluffy.

Ron paused before opening the door. "You think we'll be able to get past the dog?"

"Either Snape's already gotten by it and we can too, or he's not made it here yet and we can stop him before he gets here. We've gotta open the door either way, Ron." Harry explained.

Sighing, Ron quietly pushed open the door.

"I'll look first." Harry said, and quickly stuck his head past the door, looking into the room. He then pulled back. "Fluffy's asleep, and there's a harp in there playing by itself. Looks like Snape already got past him. Come on, we need to hurry up and catch him."

They walked into the room, seeing the trapdoor was already open and Fluffy was far enough away that they wouldn't wake it going past.

Hermione looked down the trapdoor into the darkness. "There's no ladder. We're going to have to jump if we want to get down there."

Harry frowned, peering into the darkness. "Listen, I'll go first. If it's a hard landing down there, I should be able to land without breaking anything." Taking a deep breath, he leapt down the trapdoor entrance.

He landed on something soft, which gave enough to where he didn't have to try to land. "It's safe! There's something soft; go ahead and jump down!" Harry yelled back up.

In quick succession, Ron and Hermione landed nearby. "Where are we?" Ron's voice came from his left.

"I think we landed on a really big plant." Hermione said. "It looks like this is what broke our fall. Do either of you two see the exit out of here?"

After a few seconds Ron spoke up. "Hey, you see that? There's some light over there. I think that's the way out." Ron could be heard moving around, trying to get off the plant. "Hey, what? It's not letting me go. I'm tangled in the bloody thing! One of you two come get me lose?"

Harry laughed. "Yeah yeah, hold on a sec." Attempting to dig himself out, the vines of the plant grabbed onto him even tighter. "Blast! The plant's grabbing me too! What's going on?"

The boys heard muffled movement coming from where Hermione was, and then her panicked voice. "It's Devil's Snare! The more you try to escape, the harder it holds onto you! I can't believe it's so big! I've never heard about one growing to this size."

Harry quickly stopped moving, and the vines greatly slowed their constriction. They didn't relax their hold though. "It still doesn't let us go! How do we get out?"

"Um… It likes the dark and damp, so fire? Yes! Fire makes it retreat!"

Ron's voice rung out. "But where are we going to get fire? I don't exactly carry it in a jar or anything."

"Are you, or are you not a wizard, Ronald?" Hermione pulled out her wand and pointed at a part of the plant not near any of them. _"Incendio!"_ A small jet of flame raced from her wand to the plant. Where the fire touched, the plant pulled back sharply, leaving a view of the ground underneath it. Hermione then directed the flame closer to herself, and the plant pulled away, leaving her free to walk away from it.

Harry and Ron pulled their own wands. "Only cast near yourself Ron. You know how close you are to hitting yourself; I don't want to get burned by you accidentally." Harry said.

"Would I do that?"

Harry laughed a bit. "I'm not answering that."

With that, the two boys also starting casting _"Incendio"_ at the plant near them, forcing it to draw away from them, and they burned their own path out of the gigantic Devil's Snare.

"Well, that was fun. What's next?" Ron asked, grinning.

Hermione frowned at him. "That plant could have very easily ripped you into pieces, Ron, and you say it was fun?"

Ron shrugged. "But it didn't, so now I can laugh at it."

"Come on guys, we're not getting any closer to Snape just standing here." Harry pulled them towards the door, where they could see light shining through.

Harry pulled open the door and they walked through.

"Bloody Hell, it's a giant chess set." Ron's eyes were wide. "Wonder what it's doing here?"

"You can admire it later. Let's just get across it." Hermione started across the board, with Harry and Ron cautiously following. They were just about to the black pieces when the pawns came alive and pulled swords on them. They quickly stopped.

"Okay… Looks like they don't want to let us past. I guess we have to play and win to get across." Ron looked around. "All the spaces are set up right. Let's go behind white and let me play."

They quickly got off of the board, and Ron went and stood behind the white King. "Let's get this started. Pawn to A3."

The pawn in question turned around and looked at Ron. It shook its head and remained where it was.

"Damn it. Looks like we're going to have to play as the pieces before they'll listen to us. Harry, you go take the spot for the kingside rook, Hermione you've got the queen. I guess I'll be the queenside knight." The pieces in question quickly moved off the board, the knight leaving behind his horse.

They got into position and Ron called out the move to the pawn again. "Pawn to A3." This time, the pawn moved forward as requested.

Immediately, the black side made its move, leaving Ron to make another move for white. After a few moves, black took the first piece. The bishop smashed the stone pawn, drug it off of the playing field, and then took its place.

Ron gulped. "Looks like it's real wizard's chess then. I'll make sure we don't get hit." Harry and Hermione nodded, both slightly shaken.

The game continued, with Ron racing around on the board taking many pieces, sometimes barely noticing before his piece was taken. Harry and Hermione he ordered about, making sure of their safety first.

Eventually, Ron looked around. "Great, we're almost there guys. I have to move, and then the queen will take me. Harry, then you can checkmate the King, got it?"

Harry shook his head. "Ron, you're going to get yourself hurt, maybe even killed." He eyed the destroyed chess pieces off to the side of the board.

"It's the only way, Harry. You need to keep going, catch up to Snape." Ron made to move.

Harry glared at him. "Do it, and I'll run to you instead of finishing the game. Isn't there anyway to win without losing your piece?"

Ron looked over the board again for a moment, thinking through the moves. "No, if we don't do it this way, you'll be lost in two moves, Hermione in three, and then me two moves after that."

"Let me think on this for a moment then. Hold on." Harry stood there, thinking. "Hermione, do you have any ideas on stopping this stupid game before Ron gets hurt?"

Hermione was thoughtful for a moment. "I don't think we've learned any spells that could stop something this big. And they're probably enchanted against any other magic that could affect them."

Harry looked over to Hermione, across the chessboard. "Hold on a second, that rings a bell. Where do I remember that from…" His eyes lit up. "Professor Maison! When I transfigured the Slytherin table into a pig, he said I did it a lot easier because I was using my Chi to do it instead of magic. Let me try that."

"Harry, test it on one of the pieces off the board. If you do it to a piece on the board and it doesn't work, they might attack us." Ron quickly said.

Harry nodded, and then closed his eyes. Bringing up the Void, he pulled the connection between his magical core and his wand, and attached it back into his Chi. He opened his eyes again. "Here goes nothing. Finite Incantatem, you think?"

Hermione nodded. "If it's strong enough you should be able to undo any of the enchantments on the piece."

Harry looked at the remaining pieces on the chessboard that they were against. "Okay, 5 pieces including the king. I'll try it on a pawn off the board, first." Channeling a small amount of Chi into his wand, he noticed the wand quickly seemed to resonate with the energy in it. He chuckled slightly. "I think I've got a lot more Chi than I did before." Pointing his wand towards the pawn farthest away from the board, he called out _"Finite Incantatem!"_ The energy shot out of his wand, hitting the pawn center mass. The pawn's sword dropped out of its hand, crashing to the ground where the stone shattered. It did not rebuild itself.

Ron grinned. "Bloody hell yes, looks like we've got a way out of here without losing. Hit the king first, Harry. Maybe we can end the game automatically."

Harry nodded. "Ok, the King goes first." He again channeled a small amount of Chi into his wand, pointing it at the king. Another "_Finite Incantatem"_ rang out, and streaked towards the black king. The king brought up its sword to try to deflect the energy, but it struck the sword instead of rebounding. The energy surrounded the king, and its sword fell down, along with the crown from on top of its head. The rest of the pieces put down their swords as well.

"Holy-!" Ron shouted, as the horse he was sitting on fell from a charge position to a normal trot. Ron quickly got off the horse, and walked over to Harry. "Good job, mate. Let's go find Snape."

They quickly ran through the door, which closed behind them. Hermione spun around. "The door!"

Harry looked at it with a grimace. "Well, if we can get through to the end, I bet the door opens back up. Now what do we have to do in this room?"

Looking around, they saw an old, ornate door across the great stone room. Getting closer for a better look, they saw it had a heavy lock.

"So, where's the key?" Ron looked around and noticed broomsticks leaning against one of the walls. "Brooms?"

Harry followed Ron's attention and caught sight of the brooms. Frowning, he looked higher and spotted what appeared to be birds perched high up, along the walls. The way sparse light from the unseen ceiling glittered on them, belied that they were birds. Squinting his eyes, he could just make out the shape of a few. "Keys! With wings!"

Now that all of them saw the keys, Hermione looked back at the door. "It's probably an old key, like the lock. I can barely fly a broom though, so you two are going to have to look for the key."

Harry and Ron nodded. "Come on, Ron. Betcha I can find it before you." Harry grinned at him.

"Of course you can, Mr. Seeker. I'll give you a run for your Galleons though." Both boys quickly grabbed a broom and rose from the ground. As they did, all of the keys took off, flying around the giant room. After a few minutes of searching, Harry shouted back down to Hermione. "There's too many of them! I can't tell which one might be the right one!"

Hermione thought for a moment. "See if you can find any of them that have already been tried. He got past here, so the right key had to have been used."

They nodded to each other, and kept looking. After a few moments, Ron pointed it out. "There it is! Harry, help me catch it!"

Harry quickly rose to block the flying key from getting away while Ron sped towards it. They managed to grab the key, which already had a bent wing from being used before. Wrestling it down to the door, Hermione managed to jab its 'head' into the lock and turn it. Both doors opened, and the winged key flew away, spinning out of control from the continued misuse.

"Okay, we got past this one. Hopefully we can get to the end of this stuff before Snape makes off with the stone." Harry looked at his friends. They both nodded, and they quickly pushed through to the next challenge.

"Great Merlin, what is that smell?" Ron asked.

Hermione walked in as well, then immediately held her nose. "I think… it's that thing." She pointed to a nearby troll, which was lying unconscious on the ground.

"It's even larger than the one from Halloween." Harry remarked. "I don't think any of us could have even made a dent in that thing. I'm kinda glad Snape got to this one ahead of us."

Ron laughed. "Yeah. Maybe it took a chunk or two out of him before he got rid of it."

They quickly moved into the next room, which again had the door slam behind them, sealing itself shut.

"Great, another key room." Ron sighed. "So, where's the key this time?"

Hermione looked around the room, including up towards the ceiling. "I don't see anything immediately obvious. Let's look at the door."

The trio cautiously walked up to the door. The door and all the walls were covered in a strange pattern.

Hermione examined the pattern closely. "A rune? It looks somewhat familiar. I can't tell what it is though. Where would I have seen it?"

Harry looked at the rune, then looked closer at the door. "Hey, there's a different rune written on the lock itself."

"Inscribed on the lock, you mean. Let me see." Hermione looked closer. "I don't have the faintest idea what this one is."

"This time it looks familiar to me. What could it be?" Harry continued to examine the lock.

Ron kicked the door. "You know, sometimes it's simple. _Alohomora!_" The spell shot out of his wand at the lock, but the runes around the lock glowed for a moment, pulling the spell apart. A glowing light also came from the other runes moving away from the lock. "I guess it's not that simple." He grinned ruefully.

"Hold on, maybe it is. Those runes absorbed your spell, right Ron?" Hermione looked closer at the runes when Ron nodded. "This rune… That's why it's familiar! We look at it every day. It's the rune inscribed onto our wands."

Ron looked down at his wand and laughed. "That'd explain it then."

"It's a Rune of Absorption." Harry said. "It's pulling any spell sent at the lock apart, and there're so many other runes that you can't just destroy this rune and get by." Harry looked down at his wand. "Mr. Ollivander put a Rune of Control on my wand. It looks kinda like what's on the lock. Instead of just shooting the spell, maybe you have to actually control the spell after casting it and making it ignore all the Runes of Absorption."

Hermione nodded. "That sounds right, but we can't cast spells like that. It's probably a very difficult thing to do, and you'd have to be experienced to do it."

Harry grinned. "Or have control of your magical core like I do. Let me try." Hermione and Ron stepped back, and Harry took a step towards the door. Leveling his wand at the lock, he cast the unlocking spell. "_Alohomora."_ As the spell came out of his wand, Harry focused on the magical energy moving towards the lock. Holding it together to ignore the pull of the Absorption runes, it managed to hit the lock, and it fell open.

"Way to go, Harry! You did it!" Hermione beamed at him.

"Come on, we're starting to run out of teachers that could be protecting the Stone. We've gotta hurry." Harry quickly opened the door and ran through. Ron and Hermione following closely behind.

They stopped when they came to a table with several potions lined up. Flames roared up at both of the ways out of the room.

Ron groaned. "Locked into another room. They're don't have very good imaginations, do they?"

"Actually Ron, if you lock someone into a room, they don't have a choice but to complete it. Otherwise, they could leave and come back time and time again." Hermione patiently explained. "I think we'd better figure out this room as well."

The flames picked up, shooting out and forming into words. Hermione quickly started repeating them to herself.

"It's a logic puzzle." She grinned to both Ron and Harry. "Most wizards don't use any logic and they'd be stuck in here forever."

"You've got that one right, Hermione. I wouldn't ever be able to figure this one out." Ron grinned sheepishly.

Hermione worked it out comparing the bottles several times, before finally turning around. "Alright, the smallest bottle is the way forward. The one next to it is the potion that allows you to go back."

Harry looked at the two bottles in question. "The smallest one, huh? Guess they only wanted one person to get beyond here. There's barely even a swallow in it." He glanced at Ron and Hermione. "I guess I'm the one going then. You two take the other potion and go get McGonagall. Make her get the Headmaster."

Ron nodded. "Right. He'll never be expecting you to use Chi, so you should be able to surprise him. Good luck, mate."

"Don't you get hurt, Harry. I'll be ever so mad at you." Hermione sniffed. "Alright?"

"I'll try my best, both of you. Go." Harry grabbed the smallest vial and quaffed it quickly. It made him shudder.

"Oh no, is it poison? Did I get it wrong?" Hermione's voice was quickly becoming frantic.

"No, it just feels like it froze my insides. Hurry up and get back." He dove through the flames in front of him, Hermione and Ron quickly disappearing from sight.

Passing through the flames, Harry skidded to a halt, seeing someone standing in the middle of the room, staring into a full-length mirror.

"Professor Quirrell?" Harry asked, amazed.

The man turned around, proving it was him. "Ah, Potter. I'm surprised you would come down here."

"But- but- Snape. I thought it was him!" Harry sputtered.

Quirrell gave a sadistic smile. "Ah, yes. Snape. So nice of him to unwittingly help me. Stalking around, making a general nuisance of himself. He understood in the end, though."

Harry shook his head. "Whatever. You're not getting that stone, so you might as well leave."

Quirrell raised his eyebrows and looked at Harry, speaking in a derisive tone. "And you think you are going to be able to stop me? I think not." Lifting his hand, Quirrell snapped his fingers. Ropes appeared in front of him and raced towards Harry.

Momentarily surprised, Harry dropped to the ground right before the ropes reached him. They wrapped up in each other, then fell to the ground in a knot. Harry quickly stood back up. "Magic without a wand? You've got your surprises, I've got mine." Harry channeled some of his Chi into his body, easily falling into the Void. He stood back into a defensive form, waiting.

"So, the little boy has decent reflexes, does he? I guess I should have assumed that, seeing as you managed to make your way onto a Quidditch team." Quirrell pulled out his wand. "Let us try this again, but a little more powerful this time." Quirrell pointed the wand directly at Harry. _"Incarcerous!"_ Ropes again appeared and flew towards Harry. They moved much faster this time, and Harry didn't have a chance to react before they wrapped him up.

Harry fell to the ground, surprised. He flexed against the ropes, seeing how tight they were. _If I channel enough Chi, I can probably break them. Better wait on him to not notice me though._

Quirrell turned to face the mirror again, and Harry got a better look at it. Shock showed on his face when he realized it was the Mirror of Erised.

Harry could hear Quirrell talking to himself. "I see me giving the stone to my master, but where is it? Inside the mirror? Must I break it?" He walked around the mirror, carefully looking it over.

A voice seemed to reverberate from Quirrell. _"Use the boy… He can retrieve it…"_ The voice seemed to be a low hiss. Quirrell turned to Harry. "You. Come here." He motioned with his hand, and Harry was pulled up and in front of the mirror. "What do you see boy?"

_My heart's desire, you idiot._ Harry snorted to himself. He looked into the mirror, expecting to see his parents again. Instead, he just saw himself standing there. His reflection winked at him, then stuck a hand in its pocket. Pulling it out, Harry saw his reflection holding a large, blood red gem, which it then put back into its pocket and patted it. Harry felt a sudden weight in the same pocket.

Realizing what had happened, Harry quickly spoke. "My parents. They're standing there, proud of me for kicking your arse."

Quirrell grabbed him by the shoulder and threw him back. "Worthless brat." Harry felt the stone in his pocket break into several pieces as Quirrell stood in front of the mirror again, staring at it.

Harry grinned. Quirrell had thrown him backwards to where he could not see Harry break out of the ropes. Channeling a larger amount of Chi into his body, Harry pushed out against the ropes, which quickly split, falling to his sides. Harry quietly stood up, getting ready to attack.

The voice from inside Quirrell spoke up again. _"He lies! The boy lies!"_ Quirrell turned around, intent on getting the truth this time, only to find a foot crashing into his stomach, knocking him back onto the floor.

Harry grinned at him viciously. "Told you I've got my own surprises."

Quirrell stood back up, and the voice spoke again. _"Let me see him. I will deal with the boy, personally."_ Quirrell shuddered. "Are you sure, Master? Are you strong enough?"

Quirrell winced as the voice spoke again. _"I am strong enough for this. NOW!"_ Wincing the whole time, Quirrell nodded. "Now you shall meet my Master, Potter." Quirrell started unwinding the turban around his head, and Harry saw that Quirrell did not seem to have any hair. He turned around, and Harry gasped. Protruding from the back of Quirrell's head was another face.

"_Ah, Potter. After so many years, we meet again."_ The grotesque face seemed to stare hungrily at Harry. _"I lost my body that night, and now you see what I am reduced to. A shade, forced to use others as my host."_

Harry frowned. "That night? You mean…" Harry's eyes widened. "Voldemort…"

An eerie smile came from the head. _"Correct. Now, give me the Stone, so that I may restore my body. Unicorn blood allowed my host to live long enough to make it here, now I will claim what is mine!"_

Harry grinned and spoke. "So, that was you in the forest. Want me to hit you with that bolt again?"

Voldemort hissed. _"Kill the boy, Quirrell, and retrieve the stone for me!"_

Quirrell turned around again, glaring at Harry. He held his wand high. "Give me the stone, and I will make your death quick."

Harry shook his head. "Gotta take it from me." Channeling his Chi again, Harry rushed forward.

Quirrell slashed his wand down, a nameless spell coming from it. Harry rolled, dodging the red light. He came up and punched Quirrell in the stomach. His Chi seemed to jump out of his skin and at the creature. Both Quirrell and Voldemort seemed to scream.

"Master! It hurts!" Quirrell quickly backed away, wand held out. Voldemort was hissing in pain, ignoring his host.

"Okay… You don't like my Chi, do you?" Harry took a step toward Quirrell again, ready to attack once more.

Another spell came from Quirrell. Sidestepping, the spell past by his left. Every time Harry attempted to get close to him, Quirrell would unleash another spell forcing Harry back.

After a few times of this, Harry realized he couldn't get close enough to hit him again without taking a spell in the face. Stepping back, Harry glared across the intervening space between them. Quirrell glared right back. _OK, maybe I can throw my Chi at him. Hope I can hit him first shot._ Harry fell back into an aggressive attack form, his right hand pulled behind his back. He started channeling as much Chi as he could into his hand.

Quirrell took a step back, seeing an odd energy start forming around Harry's hand. "Potter, what in the world?"

Trembling because of the almost complete draining of his Chi, Harry threw his hand forward. The luminous silver energy quickly left his hand, losing all its color. The now invisible energy raced across the space separating them and struck Quirrell.

A piercing shriek came from both Quirrell and Voldemort, as they writhed in the hold of the Chi attack. Harry quickly ran up to him, knocking him on the ground, holding onto Quirrell's throat. The remaining Chi in his body seemed to just jump out of him into Quirrell, and Harry saw the body start smoking. The face started flecking off into ash when Harry finally succumbed to the loss of his Chi and fainted.

* * *

There, end of chapter. At about 7k words too. Next chapter will be the last, and it will be a shorter epilogue type thing. 

Remember people, I love reviews. Not that I'm going to withhold chapters because of feedback, but I love getting it. So READ AND REVIEW. I BEG OF YOU!


	22. Epilogue

**Clay Pinions**

**By Lochar**

Disclaimer: Did you pay for this? No? That means this is either fanfiction or you stole it. Either way, I'm not making any money off of it.

Epilogue of First Year

* * *

Harry opened his eyes and groaned, then held up a hand to block the bright light shining against him.

"Ugh… what hit me?" He sat up, looking around. He had been lying on a grassy hill in front of the lake on the Hogwarts' grounds.

"I don't know Harry, but you've been asleep for _hours_. I've been bored out of my bloody mind waiting on you to wake up. Even throwing water on you didn't help." A female voice said from behind him.

Harry turned enough to see who had spoken. "Elly?" He asked of the red-haired girl.

She ignored the question. "Finally you wake up. So, how are you doing?"

"Alright, don't answer." He muttered. "I'm tired and sore." Harry let out a long yawn and carefully stretched to avoid hurting himself.

The girl shrugged her shoulders. "Don't know why… Hey, you wanna go flying? I love to fly." A strange look came over her face. "But I don't get to often. I have to steal a broom to go flying."

"Sure, why not. Out on the pitch, I guess?" Harry stood up.

The girl bounced a bit. "Yeah, c'mon!" She grabbed Harry's hand, dragging him away from the lake and towards the Quidditch pitch. Behind them, a fog rolled forward over the lake, covering it in mist.

-

Flying was always exhilarating, no matter when it was, or whether or not he was flying with someone. Looking across the pitch to the girl doing dives and rolls, he grinned. _But it's more fun to have someone to show off to._ Grinning wider and catching her eye, Harry dove sharply down towards the ground, pulling back up at the last minute to just barely graze the grass.

Harry rose again into the air and she flew over to him. "Hey, Harry!" She smiled at him and he looked at her.

"Hmm?"

Her smile took on a sadder note. "I think we're done. Catch!" She threw something at him, and Harry grabbed it, seeing it was a Snitch. "Congrats on the win."

Harry looked up at her, confused, but everything was quickly fading away. "Elly?" He asked her one more time, but any answer was lost.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Harry slowly opened his eyes and then squinted. There was bright light coming from the nearby open window. For some reason, his arm was straight out in the air, and he could feel something squirming in it.

His eyes getting used to the light and focusing on his hand, he saw he was holding a Snitch. "Huh? But it was a dream?"

Coming from outside the window, he could faintly hear Lee Jordan's commentary. "The game is over? But the Ravenclaw Seeker doesn't have the Snitch! Gryffindor has just jumped 150 points, as if their Seeker had caught the Snitch, but Seeker Potter is still in the Hospital Wing!"

Harry saw his wand sitting on the bedside table and grinned. He remembered a charm Hermione had shown them, one that made your voice really, really loud.

Getting up out of bed, he grabbed his wand and moved to the window. He held his wand against his throat and muttered the spell, "_Sonorus._" He then shouted as loud as he could out the window, causing his voice to carry all the way to the Quidditch Pitch. "But does it count if I have the Snitch anyways?"

Lee's startled voice could be heard echoing back. "Potter? Do you have the Snitch? And what are you doing awake?"

Harry grinned, though no one could see him do so. "Of course I'm awake! I'm not going to miss a match! So how much do we win by? You haven't announced it!"

Lee's voice echoed again over the field and into the Hospital Wing. "Quite right. Gryffindor wins the match after a four and a half hour game at 400 to 240!"

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

It was three days and over a hundred different spells cast on the Snitch before the Gryffindor win was finally accepted. After everyone had finished checking it, Harry had even looked at it to see if he had somehow summoned it with his Chi. He had been relieved to find he hadn't.

The Quidditch Cup had been awarded to Professor McGonagall, who had smiled just slightly at Harry. He accepted that with a large smile of his own.

Professor Dumbledore had taken him aside that evening, and discussed with him what had happened.

**FLASHBACK:**

"_So, Harry. You managed to stop Quirrell from gaining the stone for his Master." Dumbledore smiled down at him._

"_Yeah, but I felt it break while I was fighting. What's going to happen to Mr. Flamel now?"_

"_Nicholas and I had a talk about it. It was decided it was for the best to completely destroy the Stone, to remove the temptation of stealing it again." Harry made to interrupt, but the Headmaster kept talking. "He does not fear death, Harry. He has told me that he and his wife both have been feeling the years weighing against them and they decided it was time to move on. He still has enough elixir to set his affairs in order, then he will finally rest."_

"_But, he'll die. Why would he want to die after living for that long?" Harry argued._

"_My boy, to the organized mind, Death is but the next great adventure. And I think that Nicholas has had all the adventure there is to be had in this life."_

_Harry nodded. He might not agree with the idea, but he wasn't the alchemist. It did bring to mind Harry's next question though. "Sir, about Voldemort. Why did he lose his body when I was a baby? I mean, I can't have been the only baby he tried to kill."_

_Dumbledore didn't answer for a moment. "Some answers are too hard to understand at a young age such as yours, Harry. Although, I believe it was your mother's love that protected you that night, as much as it possibly could."_

**END FLASHBACK**

Now, Harry was sitting in the Great Hall for the Leaving Feast. What was strange, according to the older students, was that there were no House banners hanging from the walls. Normally whichever house had the most points at the end of the year won the House Cup.

Shrugging it off, Harry continued with dinner until Professor Dumbledore stood up. "I know everyone is wondering what happened to the House Cup this year, but I assure it will still be passed out."

Murmurs were heard across all the tables.

"But first, a few announcements before I get to that." There were more than a few groans at this. "Firstly. Our Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher is no longer with us and we will again have to find a new Professor before the beginning of the next school year."

There were a few lighthearted laughs at this, but Harry scowled remembering the last few minutes of Quirrell.

"Secondly, as you all may or may not have realized, Gryffindor won the Quidditch Cup, which grants them half of the points they had at the end of their last match. So, Gryffindor has an additional 200 points."

Almost half of the Slytherin table stood up in protest as they had had the lead in front of Gryffindor by 180 points. Harry was happy to see that the Potions professor didn't seem any happier about the results.

"So, with the addition of those points, that would make Gryffindor the winner of the House Cup as well." Dumbledore clapped his hands and banners unfurled themselves, displaying the Gryffindor lion and colors. "Now, I will allow you to finish all the food you can, before leaving our halls for a summer in which you will have fun and come back to us, ready for new knowledge."

Dumbledore sat down amidst cheers from three-quarters of the school.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The train ride back to Platform Nine and Three Quarters was quiet; thanks mainly to the fact that Hermione had spotted Malfoy coming down the hall and placed a locking charm on their door. Harry quickly did the same, doubling the lock on the door.

The three quietly chatted, with Harry and Hermione making sure to exchange phone numbers and addresses so they could call each other without using an owl.

When Ron asked about it, Harry explained it the easiest way he could. "I don't know if my uncle will allow me to owl anyone, as he really, really dislikes magic. I can't see him letting me send Hedwig out all that often. This way, I can at least be able to talk to one of my friends."

Ron nodded slowly, and talk went back to mundane things again.

The train ride ended much too quickly for the three of them, and soon they were off the train and back into the Muggle side of the station.

Harry saw Ron pulled away by his brothers and mother, barely getting a wave in goodbye. It looked like she was scolding him. _Probably for his part in the whole mess with Quirrell._

He said his goodbyes to Hermione, and found his uncle waiting for him at the entrance to Platform Nine.

"'Bout time you got here, boy." Vernon said gruffly. "A few more minutes and I might have left you. C'mon. Dudley's waiting in the car, and I'd rather not leave him out there alone for long." He glared at the cage with Hedwig in it. "Don't think we're going to let you have her flying about where people can see. I don't want the neighborhood thinking we're freaks as well."

Harry nodded. "May I at least let her out at night, so she can hunt? That way I don't have to find feed for her."

Vernon nodded tersely as they walked out of the station. "If it's not back in its cage by morning, it'd better not come back until the next day, got it?"

"Yes sir." Harry nodded.

Dudley grinned at him as he got into the car, and both boys spoke in very low tones about their school year as they made the trip back to Number four.

* * *

Hooray for endings. And YES. There will be a sequel. Hmm, look at that. The Prologue to it is already in my beta's hands and the whole year 2 is outlined already. 


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